Banisteriopsis vine

Several early explorers of northwestern South America—Martius, Crdvaux, Orton, Koch-Grunberg and others—also referred to ayahuasca, yagd and caapi, all citing a forest liana but offering little detail. In the early twentieth century, it was learned that the use of Banisteriopsis vines for healing, initiatory and shamanic rites extends to Peru and Bolivia. 

Although Syrian rue was native only to Central Asia and Syria, it now grows wild along the Mediterranean coasts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It is esteemed from Asia Minor across to India and northeast Tibet. Its bitter, brown seeds contain /3-carboIines identical to those in psychedelic Banisteriopsis vines and in about the same proportions. 

In the preparation oiyagd, appropriate Banisteriopsis vines are generally cut into 6- to 8-inch pieces. The bark is then pounded or shaved off and either soaked in cold water or boiled for hours, sometimes a full day, usually with one or more admixtures. Boiling produces a brown or reddish-brown concoction that s bitter and salty boiled ayahuasca is said to cause nausea to a greater degree than the cold-water infusion. The usual course is to drink a couple of cupfuls, which produce an experience lasting three or four hours. Then, if desired, users drink more yagS. 

As with peyote, Banisteriopsis vines are known for "announcing themselves. Kusel writes ... 

Yage Banisteriopsis caapi Woody vine Harmala alkaloids Di methy Itry pta mine... 

The NEXT DAY WAS the much-anticipated fourth of March. After we made breakfast we did not tear down our fire as we normally would have done. Instead we began to brew the carefully shredded Banisteriopsis caapi vines in several gallons of spring water. The... 

The better-known and widely used hallucinogenic plants are San Isidro mushroom Psilocyhe cubensis), ergot Claviceps), soma Amanita muscaria), peyote Cactus lophophora), yage (or ayahuasca), the vision vine of the Amazon Banisteriopsis caapi), cannabis Cannabis sativa and indica) and perhaps coca Erythroxylum novo-gratense). 

Ayahuasca (yage) Banisteriopsis caapi Bark of vine Harmine, harmaline Drink Hallucinogenic Shamans, various indigenous groups Amazon basin... 

Several bushes, vines and mushrooms also contain DMT and its chemical relatives. Leaves from Psychotria viridis, a bush belonging to the coffee family, and Banisteriopsis rusbyana, an ivy-like vine, are often added to the drink called yag6 made from the Amazonian "visionary vine. The presence of this ayahuasca vine in the drink enables tryptamines in the leaves to produce mental effects even after they are swallowed. (Commercial and many psychoactive mushrooms contain DMT and other DMT-like compounds. These appear in tiny amounts, however, and wouldn t be activated when eaten unless catalyzed by something like ayahuasca.)... 

Banisteriopsis caapi, the Amazonian vine of the soul, in cross-section. This climbing vine, or liana, uses jungle trees for support and can grow half a foot thick. Natives say the rosette pattern inside is composed of "hearts," and that the vine is ready for use when seven or more have developed. 

Cultivated Banisteriopsis caapi shoots near Rio Piraparana, Colombia are shown here branching out in all directions. This vine is often harvested when young natives prefer it young for some purposes, claiming that the effects of young shoots are different from those of older specimens. 

The oral activity of tryptamines that are degraded by MAO can be enhanced by chemicals called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI). This synergism serves as the basis for the Amazonian entheogenic brew, ayahuasca (which means vine of the souls ), where DMT is rendered orally active by the presence of MAOI harmala alkaloids from the plant Banisteriopsis caapi (Metzner 1999). Anoliher botanical source of the MAOI harmala alkaloids harmaline and harmine is the seed of the Syrian rue, Beganum harmala, a bush related to the creosote, native to Asia and Africa. There are anecdotal reports that the potency of psilocybin... 

Hatmaline, Harmine Ayahuasca vine Banisteriopsis caapi, Banisteriopsis inebrians South America Yage... 

While each shaman has his own secret formula for the mixture (with probably no two exactly alike), it has been established that true ayahuasca always contains both beta-carboline and tryptamine alkaloids, the former (harmine and harmaline) usually obtained from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, and the latter (N, N-dimethyl-tryptamine, or DMT) from the leaves of the Psy-chotria viridis bush. (There may be variations among plant species, but the alkaloids are always consistent.)... 

It is significant to note that neither one of these plant substances by itself is normally psychoactive in oral doses. (Harmine/harmaline is said to effect hallucinosis at highly toxic levels, but in less heroic quantities it is at best a tranquilizer, at worst an emetic.) DMT, in any quantity, is not orally active unless used in combination with a monoamine oxidase (AAAO) inhibitor. This principle is precisely what makes ayahuasca effective the harmala alkaloids in the Banisteriopsis caapi vine are potent short-term MAO inhibitors which synergize with the DMT-containing Psychotria viridis leaves to produce what has been described as one of the most profound of all psychedelic experiences. 

Another Psychotria species worth noting is P. viridis. Leaves of this plant, along with the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, are used in the preparation of ayahua-sca, a hallucinogenic beverage that is consumed in some indigenous-derived... 

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