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Ayahuasca – Ethnobotanical medicine for potential treatment of ALS
By Daniel Gustafsson
In south and central america, the native people within many tribes living along the amazon river has a long historical tradition of making and consuming a natural medicine/brew called ayahuasca. It is harvested and prepared mainly from the the bark from a wild growing vine, it’s latin name being Banisteriopsis Caapi. Often, but not always, leaves from trees named Chacruna or Chaliponga (Psychotria Viridis and Diplopterys Cabrerana) are added to the brew.
The rainforests of the earth are known to be an enormous resource and a necessity for upholding the ecosystem of the planet. It is estimated that a very great number of undiscovered plants of medicinal value, are yet to be explored within these forests. Many conventional pharmaceutical medicines originate from substances found in rainforest plants, or their synthesized variants. Ethnopharmacologists have long been aware that there is vast support for the medicinal value of ayahuasca in its use against a number of diseases, but until recently this has been limited to individual claims. Even if a great number of very in-depth and credible personal stories have been available, serious studies have been missing.
This, however, has come to change the last few years. Natural substances extracted from the ayahuasca plants have been found to possess unique and strongly antioxidative properties on specific nerve cells in the brain – in areas controlling memory, muscle control and motor activity. This gives probable cause to the theory that ayahuasca could be an effective treatment against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). Promising results as of date has also been obtained from studying the substance psilocybin, very closely related to the substances found in ayahuasca, naturally occuring in certain species of medicinal mushrooms used by the indigenous people.
According to Dr. Juan Ramos, head of the neurological disease department at the South Florida university, USA, initial studies show that these substances stimulate the development of new cells in the areas of the brain controlling above mentioned functions. If this could mean a cure through complete restoration of damaged cells remains to be seen, but initial results are promising. Cancer researchers have also shown interest in B. Caapi, as its different alkaloids has shown to be effective against the growth of cancer cells.
Eduardo E. Schenberg, Federal University of Sao Paulo:
”There are enough available evidence that the active substances in ayahuasca, especially dimethyltryptamine and harmine, has the positive effect of preventing cancer cells in cultures used for cancer research, and that these substances affect the biochemical processes that are crucial to the treatment of cancer in-vitro as well as in-vivo. The reports available about people with experience from ayahuasca in the treatment of cancer should be taken seriously. The hypothesis is that the combination of (beta-carboline) alkaloids and dimethyltryptamine present in ayahuasca blocks the transportation of nutrients to tumours, lessens the dividing process of cancer cells, and changes the unbalanced mutation-causing metabolism in cancer cells.”
What has earlier been controversial about ayahuasca (and to some degree remains controversial), is that the plants in question has been thought of simply as hallucinogens by western science. In other words, these medicinal plants of great importance, were neglected by the scientific community and thought of simply as drugs. A more correct term for these plants, with respect to the indigenous culture in which ayahuasca is a part of, would be ”entheogens” – which means plants used in a shamanistic context, inducing spiritual experiences. In several countries, such as Peru, ayahuasca is fully legal and accepted as a complement to conventional medicine, and these last 10 years, western countries has to an increasing degree changed their former unfounded and faulty attitude towards entheogens such as ayahuasca, as more and more studies of entheogenic plants have been completed with positive outcome.
Together with several other similar substances that can be found in B. Caapi, harmalin is a mono amino oxidase inhibitor. Mono amino oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme in the body that breaks down signal substances (such as serotonin). The inhibition of MAO allows the signal substance to remain in the synapse for a longer period of time. Many anti-depressants work in a similar way, as they stimulate receptors in a targeted area. However, the alkaloids present in ayahuasca should not be compared to antidepressants, as they are not the same though they both have the ability to affect the same receptors in body and brain. The biochemical properties of plants used in ayahuasca, and the effects they cause on a multitude of bodily functions remains unique to these plants alone.
Ayahuasca in itself is proven to be unharmful, as its compounds are non-toxic, though temporary side effects such as nausea, vertigo and vomiting are common. However, combining certain medical drugs with MAO-inhibitors (such as the ones found in ayahuasca) is very dangerous, even lethal in some cases. This means that in order to safely consume ayahuasca, one must not combine it with any contraindicated medicinal drugs. The more or less uncomfortable side effects from ayahuasca, are greatly dose-dependent, and a smaller amount consumed for medicinal purpose can thus mean few, if any, side effects experienced.
When searching for information regarding ayahuasca, a few negative articles can be found, emotionally angled (understandably so), since they report unfortunate tourists who on their own, or having been duped into doing so, drink something entirely else than ayahuasca – for instance the toxic plant datura – with serious outcome to their health (including death in some cases). This leads to fear and misinformation, and is not only tragic for the diseased and their families, but also for the natural medicine community that is trying to promote the safe and responsible advantage of using natural medicine for health benefits, and treatment of diseases that regular medical care fails to provide options for. In several countries, including Peru, Brazil and Costa Rica, established retreats offer ayahuasca-sessions where the
right plants are harvested (sometimes even organically grown on the property) and prepared by experienced botanists.
Ayahuasca as an alternative therapy is likely to gain further attention in coming years, but is already well established. Should the discoveries eventually lead to a therapeutic pharmaceutical drug, derived from these plants, to be produced, it lies many years ahead from now. The process from studies, through trials, to eventual launch of an approved drug made for use in the medical care system, is slow due to obvious reasons. The real interesting fact is that ayahuasca in it’s natural form is something that is available now, today, for those who live with a diagnose lacking options for other treatment. For those who want and can partake in alternative treatment using ayahuasca, there is, while not in any way guaranteed, the real possibility for improvement. As in many other cases, the invidual results will vary, and there should be an emphasis on not overly stirring people’s hope up when questions and work remain. There is also the importance of emphasizing and thereby minimizing the risks involved concerning contraindicative medications. But while studies are ongoing, this
information should be worth the attention of anyone suffering from a debilitating progressive disease.
My personal connection to this, was the passing of a close friends’ mother due to ALS a few years ago. The course of her disease was rapid, and unfortunately several of the now available studies, had not yet been published at the time. This led me into investigating the connection between any available natural medicine and the treatment of neurological disease.
B. Caapi is legal to use much in the same way as other known herbal remedies, such as Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng. However, just like with these potent natural supplements, it is up to the consumer to use and combine these in an informed and responsible way. Natural medicines should always be treated with respect, just like conventional medicinal drugs.
Another substance, known as dimethyltryptamine, found in plants traditionally added to ayahuasca, is however regulated by law in some countries as a scheduled substance. (Questionably so, due to its medicinal value in multiple areas). It is these secondary added plants and this particular substance that induces an altered state of consciousness, a many times misunderstood and stigmatized phenomenon. A description of this altered state is that it is dreamlike, that it stimulates memory and the ability to think abstract, and that it has self-therapeutic qualities. Even though dimethyltryptamine is naturally occuring in the human body, thought to be produced by the pineal gland in the brain during the dream phases of sleep, it remains an illegal substance in some western countries since the 60’s, when lawmakers criminalized many substances suspected of having any effect on the mind, including natural ones, due to the widespread moral panic at the time. Although, several european countries has redefined their policy regarding many formerly frowned upon medicinal plants in recent years, much due to an increasing awareness and access to new and unbiased information regarding these plants, as well as up-to-date research. In Scandinavia, Urbi Svonni – a Sami native from Sapmi, Sweden, was recently aquitted from all charges in the court of law, for having brought Peruvian medicinal cactus into the country. It was established that natural plant material cannot be defined as a scheduled substance, and that the shamanistic work Svonni was doing, which included mescaline-containing San Pedro cacti, was indeed not a criminal act, but served the purpose to help and heal people. Another similar case with the same outcome involved ayahuasca additive plants.
Ayahuasca is proven to be non-addictive, and is even used to aid people in breaking their drug dependencies, as ayahuasca has a detoxifying and documented effect of ridding the user of drugrelated abstinence issues. The MAO-inhibition does, among other things, ensure that the uptake of dimethyltryptamine can occur in the body, as it is otherwise (without MAO-inhibition) broken down in the stomach, unable to cause any effect. Dimethyltryptamine is molecularly near identical with earlier mentioned psilocybin in dr. Ramos research. It is theorized that the unique combination of harmala-alkaloids from B. Caapi, and dimethyltryptamine from additional plant sources used in ayahuasca, work on a cellular level to repair and restore cell tissue and to protect nerve cells from degenerative damage. This is without doubt valuable from both a neuromedical standpoint, as well as from a cancer research perspective.
As the non regulated B. Caapi alone has proven to have very positive abilities, potentially effective against neuro and cancer diseases, it is thus something real that may be a valuable alternative treatment option. For someone who experiences positive results, to whatever degree, there is then the possibility to travel to one of the many countries which by law allows the use of added secondary plants with their likely medicinal properties for evalution of full ayahuasca treatment. In Europe, Spain is one of several countries where ayahuasca is becoming established as an alternative therapy, and Spain is also the chosen location for an international conference 2014, where ethnopharmacologists, psychologists and researchers from all over the world gather around the topics of ayahuasca and other entheogens.
Among others, Ede Frecska, M.D., Ph.D, University of Debrecen, lectures on the possibilities of recreating braincells and regulating the immune defense system through plant-based medicine. This event is held by ICEERS – International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service, and can be followed at (google aya2014).
In due time, ayahuasca and other entheogens can and will gain the credibility and amends they deserve, and bring hope to those out there living with diseases that lack conventional options for treatment. Hopefully, you found this reading to be interesting, and worthy of your time. It is now up to you wether you think this this information is important enough to share.
References: (Can be found in original article)
By Daniel Gustafsson
In south and central america, the native people within many tribes living along the amazon river has a long historical tradition of making and consuming a natural medicine/brew called ayahuasca. It is harvested and prepared mainly from the the bark from a wild growing vine, it’s latin name being Banisteriopsis Caapi. Often, but not always, leaves from trees named Chacruna or Chaliponga (Psychotria Viridis and Diplopterys Cabrerana) are added to the brew.
The rainforests of the earth are known to be an enormous resource and a necessity for upholding the ecosystem of the planet. It is estimated that a very great number of undiscovered plants of medicinal value, are yet to be explored within these forests. Many conventional pharmaceutical medicines originate from substances found in rainforest plants, or their synthesized variants. Ethnopharmacologists have long been aware that there is vast support for the medicinal value of ayahuasca in its use against a number of diseases, but until recently this has been limited to individual claims. Even if a great number of very in-depth and credible personal stories have been available, serious studies have been missing.
This, however, has come to change the last few years. Natural substances extracted from the ayahuasca plants have been found to possess unique and strongly antioxidative properties on specific nerve cells in the brain – in areas controlling memory, muscle control and motor activity. This gives probable cause to the theory that ayahuasca could be an effective treatment against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). Promising results as of date has also been obtained from studying the substance psilocybin, very closely related to the substances found in ayahuasca, naturally occuring in certain species of medicinal mushrooms used by the indigenous people.
According to Dr. Juan Ramos, head of the neurological disease department at the South Florida university, USA, initial studies show that these substances stimulate the development of new cells in the areas of the brain controlling above mentioned functions. If this could mean a cure through complete restoration of damaged cells remains to be seen, but initial results are promising. Cancer researchers have also shown interest in B. Caapi, as its different alkaloids has shown to be effective against the growth of cancer cells.
Eduardo E. Schenberg, Federal University of Sao Paulo:
”There are enough available evidence that the active substances in ayahuasca, especially dimethyltryptamine and harmine, has the positive effect of preventing cancer cells in cultures used for cancer research, and that these substances affect the biochemical processes that are crucial to the treatment of cancer in-vitro as well as in-vivo. The reports available about people with experience from ayahuasca in the treatment of cancer should be taken seriously. The hypothesis is that the combination of (beta-carboline) alkaloids and dimethyltryptamine present in ayahuasca blocks the transportation of nutrients to tumours, lessens the dividing process of cancer cells, and changes the unbalanced mutation-causing metabolism in cancer cells.”
What has earlier been controversial about ayahuasca (and to some degree remains controversial), is that the plants in question has been thought of simply as hallucinogens by western science. In other words, these medicinal plants of great importance, were neglected by the scientific community and thought of simply as drugs. A more correct term for these plants, with respect to the indigenous culture in which ayahuasca is a part of, would be ”entheogens” – which means plants used in a shamanistic context, inducing spiritual experiences. In several countries, such as Peru, ayahuasca is fully legal and accepted as a complement to conventional medicine, and these last 10 years, western countries has to an increasing degree changed their former unfounded and faulty attitude towards entheogens such as ayahuasca, as more and more studies of entheogenic plants have been completed with positive outcome.
Together with several other similar substances that can be found in B. Caapi, harmalin is a mono amino oxidase inhibitor. Mono amino oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme in the body that breaks down signal substances (such as serotonin). The inhibition of MAO allows the signal substance to remain in the synapse for a longer period of time. Many anti-depressants work in a similar way, as they stimulate receptors in a targeted area. However, the alkaloids present in ayahuasca should not be compared to antidepressants, as they are not the same though they both have the ability to affect the same receptors in body and brain. The biochemical properties of plants used in ayahuasca, and the effects they cause on a multitude of bodily functions remains unique to these plants alone.
Ayahuasca in itself is proven to be unharmful, as its compounds are non-toxic, though temporary side effects such as nausea, vertigo and vomiting are common. However, combining certain medical drugs with MAO-inhibitors (such as the ones found in ayahuasca) is very dangerous, even lethal in some cases. This means that in order to safely consume ayahuasca, one must not combine it with any contraindicated medicinal drugs. The more or less uncomfortable side effects from ayahuasca, are greatly dose-dependent, and a smaller amount consumed for medicinal purpose can thus mean few, if any, side effects experienced.
When searching for information regarding ayahuasca, a few negative articles can be found, emotionally angled (understandably so), since they report unfortunate tourists who on their own, or having been duped into doing so, drink something entirely else than ayahuasca – for instance the toxic plant datura – with serious outcome to their health (including death in some cases). This leads to fear and misinformation, and is not only tragic for the diseased and their families, but also for the natural medicine community that is trying to promote the safe and responsible advantage of using natural medicine for health benefits, and treatment of diseases that regular medical care fails to provide options for. In several countries, including Peru, Brazil and Costa Rica, established retreats offer ayahuasca-sessions where the
right plants are harvested (sometimes even organically grown on the property) and prepared by experienced botanists.
Ayahuasca as an alternative therapy is likely to gain further attention in coming years, but is already well established. Should the discoveries eventually lead to a therapeutic pharmaceutical drug, derived from these plants, to be produced, it lies many years ahead from now. The process from studies, through trials, to eventual launch of an approved drug made for use in the medical care system, is slow due to obvious reasons. The real interesting fact is that ayahuasca in it’s natural form is something that is available now, today, for those who live with a diagnose lacking options for other treatment. For those who want and can partake in alternative treatment using ayahuasca, there is, while not in any way guaranteed, the real possibility for improvement. As in many other cases, the invidual results will vary, and there should be an emphasis on not overly stirring people’s hope up when questions and work remain. There is also the importance of emphasizing and thereby minimizing the risks involved concerning contraindicative medications. But while studies are ongoing, this
information should be worth the attention of anyone suffering from a debilitating progressive disease.
My personal connection to this, was the passing of a close friends’ mother due to ALS a few years ago. The course of her disease was rapid, and unfortunately several of the now available studies, had not yet been published at the time. This led me into investigating the connection between any available natural medicine and the treatment of neurological disease.
B. Caapi is legal to use much in the same way as other known herbal remedies, such as Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng. However, just like with these potent natural supplements, it is up to the consumer to use and combine these in an informed and responsible way. Natural medicines should always be treated with respect, just like conventional medicinal drugs.
Another substance, known as dimethyltryptamine, found in plants traditionally added to ayahuasca, is however regulated by law in some countries as a scheduled substance. (Questionably so, due to its medicinal value in multiple areas). It is these secondary added plants and this particular substance that induces an altered state of consciousness, a many times misunderstood and stigmatized phenomenon. A description of this altered state is that it is dreamlike, that it stimulates memory and the ability to think abstract, and that it has self-therapeutic qualities. Even though dimethyltryptamine is naturally occuring in the human body, thought to be produced by the pineal gland in the brain during the dream phases of sleep, it remains an illegal substance in some western countries since the 60’s, when lawmakers criminalized many substances suspected of having any effect on the mind, including natural ones, due to the widespread moral panic at the time. Although, several european countries has redefined their policy regarding many formerly frowned upon medicinal plants in recent years, much due to an increasing awareness and access to new and unbiased information regarding these plants, as well as up-to-date research. In Scandinavia, Urbi Svonni – a Sami native from Sapmi, Sweden, was recently aquitted from all charges in the court of law, for having brought Peruvian medicinal cactus into the country. It was established that natural plant material cannot be defined as a scheduled substance, and that the shamanistic work Svonni was doing, which included mescaline-containing San Pedro cacti, was indeed not a criminal act, but served the purpose to help and heal people. Another similar case with the same outcome involved ayahuasca additive plants.
Ayahuasca is proven to be non-addictive, and is even used to aid people in breaking their drug dependencies, as ayahuasca has a detoxifying and documented effect of ridding the user of drugrelated abstinence issues. The MAO-inhibition does, among other things, ensure that the uptake of dimethyltryptamine can occur in the body, as it is otherwise (without MAO-inhibition) broken down in the stomach, unable to cause any effect. Dimethyltryptamine is molecularly near identical with earlier mentioned psilocybin in dr. Ramos research. It is theorized that the unique combination of harmala-alkaloids from B. Caapi, and dimethyltryptamine from additional plant sources used in ayahuasca, work on a cellular level to repair and restore cell tissue and to protect nerve cells from degenerative damage. This is without doubt valuable from both a neuromedical standpoint, as well as from a cancer research perspective.
As the non regulated B. Caapi alone has proven to have very positive abilities, potentially effective against neuro and cancer diseases, it is thus something real that may be a valuable alternative treatment option. For someone who experiences positive results, to whatever degree, there is then the possibility to travel to one of the many countries which by law allows the use of added secondary plants with their likely medicinal properties for evalution of full ayahuasca treatment. In Europe, Spain is one of several countries where ayahuasca is becoming established as an alternative therapy, and Spain is also the chosen location for an international conference 2014, where ethnopharmacologists, psychologists and researchers from all over the world gather around the topics of ayahuasca and other entheogens.
Among others, Ede Frecska, M.D., Ph.D, University of Debrecen, lectures on the possibilities of recreating braincells and regulating the immune defense system through plant-based medicine. This event is held by ICEERS – International Center for Ethnobotanical Education Research and Service, and can be followed at (google aya2014).
In due time, ayahuasca and other entheogens can and will gain the credibility and amends they deserve, and bring hope to those out there living with diseases that lack conventional options for treatment. Hopefully, you found this reading to be interesting, and worthy of your time. It is now up to you wether you think this this information is important enough to share.
References: (Can be found in original article)
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