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Ayahuasca is an entheogenic drink prepared from segments of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi. Sections of vine are boiled with leaves from any of a large number of other plants (such as Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana) yielding a brew containing the powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid N,N-dimethyltryptamine, combined with an MAOI, such as harmaline, harmine, d-tetrahydroharmine from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. The potency of this brew varies radically from one batch to the next, both in strength and psychoactive effect, based mainly on the skill of the shaman producing it, as well as other admixtures sometimes added. Other names:
Nowadays, the term ayahuasca also means analogous concoctions made with other plants that contain the two main components, an MAOI and DMT, or one of its analogues. The DMT is the main "active ingredient", causing the desired effects. The MAOI is necessary for DMT to be active orally. However some actual shamans object to this and state that the Banisteriopsis vine is the only defining ingredient, everything else being of secondary importance.
Some plant sources of MAOI:
In Brazil there are a number of religious movements based on the use of Ayahuasca, the most famous of them called Santo Daime, usually in a animistic context that may be Shamanistic or, more often, mixed with Christian imagery. Ayahuasca was made more widely known by Terrence and Dennis McKenna's experiences with Amazonian tribes as detailed in the book Invisible Landscape, they co-authored. Dennis later extensively studied the pharmacology, botany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and oo-koo-he, which were the subjects of his master's thesis. External links
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