Pharmahuasca is a pharmaceutical version of ayahuasca, a psychoactive decoction used by indigenous cultures in South America as part of traditional medicine and shamanism. Traditional ayahuasca is made by brewing the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)-containing Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a dimethyltryptamine (DMT)-containing plant, such as Psychotria viridis. Pharmahuasca refers to a similar combination that uses a synthetically produced or pharmaceutical MAOI, such as moclobemide, instead of a plant.
Use and effects
DMT and harmaline or harmine are typically used as components of pharmahuasca. One study tested a formulation of 100 mg buccal harmine with 100 mg intranasal DMT, which produced an effect lasting 2 to 3hours. The use of moclobemide, a reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase-A (RIMA), has been recorded and is safer than older irreversible MAOIs (such as isocarboxazid) due to its significantly shorter and more selective effects (although it still exhibits a wide range of dangerous drug-drug interactions).
Interactions
See also
- Ayahuasca
- Dimethyltryptamine/harmine
- Dimethyltryptamine/β-carbolines
External links
- Erowid: Ayahuasca
- A General Introduction to Ayahuasca