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A research group led by the Complutense University of Madrid has shown, in animal models, that ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea used for centuries in the communities of the Amazon for shamanic purposes, is capable of forming neurons and other brain cells, thus becoming a potential therapy for psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
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According to the University, “One of the main natural components of Amazonian ayahuasca tea, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), promotes neurogenesis – the formation of new neurons.”
In addition to neurons, the concoction used for shamanic purposes also induces the formation of other neuronal cells such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, according to the institution.
“This ability to modulate brain plasticity indicates that it has great therapeutic potential for a wide range of psychiatric disorders and neurological, among which are neurodegenerative diseases ”, explains José Ángel Morales, researcher at the Department of Cell Biology at the UCM and Ciberned.
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The study, published in Translational psychiatry -Affiliate of Nature– collects the results of four years of in vitro and in vivo experimentation in mice, demonstrating in the latter “a greater cognitive capacity when treated with this substance”, according to José Antonio López, researcher at the Faculty of Psychology of the UCM and co-author of the work.
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Ayahuasca is the result of mix two Amazon plants: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and the chacruna bush (Psychotria viridis).
“In ayahuasca, DMT binds to a type 2A serotonergic brain receptor, and that is when its hallucinogenic effect is enhanced. In this research, this binding is made with another receptor, sigma type, that does not have these effects which greatly facilitates its future administration to patients ”.
The group explains that in neurodegenerative diseases, the death of certain types of neurons causes the symptoms of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The human being has the ability to generate new neuronal cells, but it depends on other factors and it is not always possible.
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“The challenge would be to activate this ability to form neurons that we have asleep and in this way to be able to replace the neurons that die as a result of the disease. This work shows that DMT is capable of activating neural stem cells and forming new neurons ”, concludes Morales.
* With information from the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit from the Complutense University of Madrid
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