Biochemistry of Amazonian Folk Medicine – Plant Teachers and Lucid Dreams

Ayahuasca – meaning Vine of Souls or Vine of Dead in the Incan Quechua language [1]– is a hallucinogenic beverage that has been used for thousands of years in the Amazon region and occupies a primary position in mestizo (literally, ethnically mixed) folk medicine. Other names for ayahuasca are yagé, hoasca, daime, and caapi, and the complexity of this brew’s botanical and chemical composition reflects the ethnographic variety of all the tribes whose rituals are strongly affected by its presence.[1] [2] 

 Indeed, in Western society ayahuasca and, more in general, hallucinogens are used idiosyncratically and recreationally; they are often self-prescribed, assumed outside any magical or metaphysical ritual, and have no-healing purpose. [2] On the other hand, in the Amazonian tradition ayahuasca consumption always happens within therapeutic ceremonies that are often conducted at night and followed by further processes such as cleansing baths, discussions, and psychological integration. [1]

The person leading the ceremony, also in charge of the healing process, is called ayahuasquero and could be defined with Western words as a doctor, a psychotherapist, and a priest. By assuming the drug, the ayahuasquero connects to supernatural dimensions and this privileged communication with the spirits’ world can be used for healing, diagnosis of an illness, or divination. Furthermore, the ayahuasquero uses different tools such as singing, smoking, and blowing tobacco, to control the setting of the patient’s experience with ayahuasca. [1] [2]

Botanical composition and plant teachers

The main component in ayahuasca brew is Banisteropsis caapi (belonging to the family of Malpighiaceae). However, its bark or stems are rarely boiled alone. More frequently, the brew contains admixtures such as the malpighiaceae Diplopterys cablerana and the rubiaceous Psychotria virdis, which are crucial in the hallucinatory process. [1] [3]

Besides these main and constant components, a whole plethora of plants can be added to the brew, depending on the situation and purpose of the ceremony. These plants are referred to as plant teachers and convey access to the spirit dimension. Indeed, in the cosmology of many Amazonian people, every living being has a twofold character, sacred and secular and it’s by contacting the sacred dimension that knowledge and powers can be acquired. [2]

The two dimensions are strongly interconnected since many spiritual qualities have been attributed to the spiritual world through attentive observation and experimentation. Is indeed by studying Amazonian people’s cosmology and religion that a lot of knowledge about the natural world and pharmacology can be acquired. [2]

These plants are particularly important during the apprenticeship of a future ayahuasquero when they are assumed along with a strict diet and sexual abstinence. Indeed, it’s through the diet that plants reveal themselves and open the mind of the initiate. 

Plant teachers usually have one or more of the following characteristics: 

1. producing hallucinations if taken alone; 
2. modifying the effects of ayahuasca beverage; 
3. producing dizziness; 
4. possessing strong emetic and/or cathartic properties; 
5. bringing on especially vivid dreams. [3] 

This last aspect is particularly important, since the initiate’s learning process mainly takes place during dreams, which are said to be brighter and more intense during this period. [2], [3]

Bobinsana

A plant that seems to be widespread in the Amazonian medicinal culture is Calliandra angustifolia, better known as bobinsana, belonging to the Fabaceae family. [4] [5] Despite the frequency of this plant’s use, the literature about it is very poor. However, it is known that this plant is mainly used as an anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, depurative, anti-cancer, and tonic. [4]

The anti-inflammatory and the antiarthritic activity are the only ones documented. Indeed, it has been proven that crude ethanol extract of C. angustifolia’s bark and stems has an in-vivo inhibitory activity of cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) in rats. This enzyme catalyzes the biosynthesis of prostaglandins, arachidonic acid-derived lipid compounds that play a key role in the inflammation process. Since COX inhibitors are drugs used to treat arthritis, this explains the diffused custom in South America to use bobinsana to treat rheumatisms. [6]

Phytochemical Composition of Bobinsana Extract

C. angustifolia extract contains many compounds such as harmala alkaloids, amino acids, cyanogenic glycosides, tannins, saponins, and sterols. [4] How the plant’s biological activity relies on its chemical composition has not been documented yet. However, besides these strictly pharmacological aspects, bobinsana’s popularity in the Amazon region is due to its property of being a plant teacher.

Bobinsana isn’t hallucinogenic itself, its bark is added to ayahuasca decoction to open the mind and provide courage. [3], [5]Furthermore, bobinsana’s extract can be found on several websites that, among its characteristics, report the induction of lucid dreams. Even though there is no scientific evidence, this property might rely on another chemical component of C. angustifolia extract: pipecolic acid and its derivatives. [4]

Also known as 2-piperidine carboxylic acid, this molecule is a chiral cyclic non-protein amino acid derived from L-lysine metabolism. [7 ]Pipecolic acid is an important nitrogen source in different environments and it’s gaining increasing interest from a pharmaceutical point of view as a precursor for peptides and polyketides formation, local anesthetic, and potential enzyme inhibitor.

Another important property is that a link between the γ-Aminobutyric acid system and pipecolic acid has been observed in mice’s brains. Indeed, pipecolic acid has shown partial agonist activity on GABA postsynaptic receptors, namely it boosts GABA response. Even though there is a lack of information on bobinsana’s biological role in the ayahuasca hallucination process, this last activity could be the one playing a key role in the whole synergistic event and particularly in lucid dreams. [7]

Lucid Dreams and Hallucinations Biochemistry

The principal hallucinogenic molecule in ayahuasca brew is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan. Endogenous DMT can be found both in plants and animals, including humans, but its precise role remains substantially unknown. Exogenous DMT can be assumed through at least 50 species of plants, among which D. cabrerana and P. virdis that are used to prepare ayahuasca. DMT can be assumed through ingestion, inhalation, and intramuscular or intravenous injection.

However, in the first case, monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes degrade it before it reaches the brain, thus avoiding any possible psychoactive effect.  This is the reason why another fundamental component of ayahuasca is B. caapi, which contains MAO inhibitors such as harmala alkaloids. [1] [2] DMT has an effect on several biochemical process, among which the dopaminergic system, by inducing the release of dopamine, which takes place particularly during sleep.  Phenomena such as hallucinations are linked to abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission. [1] [8]

The lucid dreaming (LD) phenomenon takes place during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and it’s a physiological state of consciousness where dreamers become aware that they are dreaming. While LD is happening, the paralimbic network, a region of the cerebral cortex, is active. [8], [9]  This network is often referred to as “default mode network” because it defaults whenever the attention is turned away from the self to another task. Different compartments of this network interact via gamma oscillations, that are generally related to consciousness and self-awareness. [8] On the other hand, while sleeping, neural activity is characterized by low-frequency oscillations called delta oscillations. [9]

The increased release of dopamine, triggered by DMT [1], not only strengthens the phase-amplitude relationship between delta and gamma oscillations but also reduces the level of free GABA in the brain cortex.[8] Since pipecolic acid acts as a GABA agonist, it might affect the induction of gamma oscillations and thus on the dreams’ brightness and consciousness. [1], [7], [8]

These are the characteristics of such a powerful plant, bobinsana, but yet so mysterious to our Western eyes. Attempting to give a scientific explanation of ayahuasca and plant teachers’ power is an ambitious scope given the thousands of years during which Amazonian medicine and plural traditions have developed. Every theory will always be partial without taking into account the multidimensional nature of these people’s cosmology and world. 

References: 

1. E. James, J. Keppler, T. L Robertshaw, and B. Sessa, “N,N-dimethyltryptamine and Amazonian ayahuasca plant medicine,” Human Psychopharmacology, vol. 37, no. 3. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, May 01, 2022. doi: 10.1002/hup.2835.
2. L. E. Luna, “Biodynamic Constituents in Ayahuasca Admixture Plants: An Uninvestigated Folk Pharmacopoeia” in Ethnobotany, Evolution of a Discipline, R.E. Schultes and S. von Reis. Dioscorides Press, 1995, pp 349-361.
3. L.E. Luna, “The concept of plants as teachers among four mestizo shamans of Iquitos, Northeastern Peru”, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 11, 1984, pp 135-156.
4. “Technical Data Report for Bobinsana (Calliandra angustifolia)” Copyright 2006 by Dr. Leslie Taylor, ND. Available online: https://www.rain-tree.com/reports/bobinsana-tech-report.pdf
5. V. Caballero-Serrano et al., “Traditional ecological knowledge and medicinal plant diversity in Ecuadorian Amazon home gardens,” Glob Ecol Conserv, vol. 17, Jan. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00524.
6. C. A. Dunstan, Y. Noreen, G. Serrano, P. A. Cox, P. Perera, and L. Bohlin, “Evaluation of some Samoan and Peruvian medicinal plants by prostaglandin biosynthesis and rat ear oedema assays” Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 57, 1997, pp 35-56.
7. M. M. Al-Rooqi et al., “Recent advancements on the synthesis and biological significance of pipecolic acid and its derivatives,” Journal of Molecular Structure, vol. 1268. Elsevier B.V., Nov. 15, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.133719.
8. H. C. Lou, K. Rømer Thomsen, and J. P. Changeux, “The Molecular Organization of Self-awareness: Paralimbic Dopamine-GABA Interaction,” Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, vol. 14. Frontiers Media S.A., Jan. 28, 2020. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.00003.
9. A. A. Oldoni, A. D. Bacchi, F. R. Mendes, P. A. Tiba, and S. Mota-Rolim, “Neuropsychopharmacological Induction of (Lucid) Dreams: A Narrative Review,” Brain Sci, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 426, Apr. 2024, doi: 10.3390/brainsci14050426.