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Mass spectrum of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-5-methoxyindole, MW: 218, related to Anadenanthera) to t R 13.951 min. Formula: C 13 H 18 N 2 O. Ten largest peaks: 58 999 r 218 146 r 160 60 r 117 50 r 42 43 r 145 40 r 59 38 r 89 29 r 130 29 r 90 23 r.
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![Fig. 2. Mass spectrum of harmine (9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole,...](profile/Juan-Ogalde/publication/222124513/figure/fig1/AS:568234974695424@1512489183498/Mass-spectrum-of-harmine-9H-pyrido3-4-bindole-7-methoxy-1-methyl-MW-212-related_Q320.jpg)
Various ethnographic sources have demonstrated the symbolic and ritualistic importance of psychoactive plants in Native American societies. The social milieu of these mind- altering plants appears to be ancient. Archaeological evidence during the Tiwanaku empire expansion along the Atacama Desert of Chile, circa 500–1000 A.D., shows the presence of...
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Ayahuasca is a psychedelic beverage originally from the Amazon rainforest used in different shamanic settings for medicinal, spiritual, and cultural purposes. It is prepared by boiling in water an admixture of the Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi, which is a source of β-carboline alkaloids, with plants containing N,N-dimethyltryptamine, usually...
Background:
Ayahuasca is a plant tea containing the psychedelic 5-HT2A agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and harmala monoamine-oxidase inhibitors. Acute administration leads to neurophysiological modifications in brain regions of the default mode network (DMN), purportedly through a glutamatergic mechanism. Post-acutely, ayahuasca potentiates m...
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... Many alkaloids have important medicinal and psychoactive effects in humans, and their direct detection, or detection of their metabolites, is of great interest to archaeologists. Previous studies have successfully recovered alkaloids in archaeological contexts, including ceramics (Smith et al., 2018), pipes , human hair (Echeverría & Niemeyer, 2013;Ogalde et al., 2009), and even dental calculus employing both targeted (Eerkens et al., 2018) and untargeted approaches (Buckley et al., 2014;Gismondi et al., 2020). Especially nicotine, the principal alkaloid in tobacco leaves, has been widely studied in the archaeological record due to its apparent stability and ability to survive over long periods of time (Eerkens et al., 2018;Rafferty et al., 2012;Tushingham et al., 2013). ...
... In an attempt to identify the source that caused the detection of harmine and harmaline in the biological tissues of the Chilean and Peruvian mummies, it is necessary to acquire an updated list of plants known for the production of these alkaloids. Concerning the Azapa Valley mummies, the Ogalde team first considered exclusively the Banisteriopsis vine because "it is the only South American species that contains harmine" (Ogalde et al., 2009(Ogalde et al., , 2010, whereas in a more recent paper, admitting the presence of other South American β-carbolines-bearing plants, they again opted for B. caapi "being the best known and most studied harmine-producing plant" (Ogalde et al., 2017). Also, the Socha team that found harmine and harmaline in the two Incaic Ampato mummies, considered B. caapi as "the only possible source in the Andean region" (Socha, Sykutera, & Orefici, 2022). ...
... The hypothesis proposed by Ogalde et al. (2009) regarding the existence of an 'extensive plant trade networks between northern Chile and the Amazonian basin' as a source of Banisteriopsis supply was influenced by the population models of the Southern Andean area proposed by various scholars. These models suggest the migration of ancient populations from tropical regions to the Bolivian plateau in the first phase and to the Andean and southern coastal areas, including northern Chile, in a later phase (Rivera, 1975). ...
... The migration of populations from low tropical regions to the Andean and southern coastal areas, including the region of Arica, is hypothesized to have occurred at least 1500 years before the age of the mummies found in the Azapa Valley that tested positive for harmine. This renders unlikely the 'extensive plant trade networks' proposed by the team of Ogalde et al., 2009, because no tropical exotic materials have been identified for that chronological and geographical horizon, nor any evidence suggesting continuity of the route of this long-distance journey. ...
The primary objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges involved in detecting ancient ayahuasca, a traditional hallucinogenic drink from the Amazon region, which is prepared using Banisteriopsis caapi liana and other plants, by utilizing advanced analytical techniques. The presence of harmine and harmaline in Andean archaeological findings has led certain authors to speculate that the Banisteriopsis liana may have been the source plant responsible for their occurrence. Consequently, the utilization of this liana can be traced back to at least 500 CE. However, a combination of archaeological, ethnobotanical, biochemical and analytical chemistry considerations has rendered uncertain the true origins of the presence of harmine and harmaline in ancient mummies and artifacts. Thus, the archaeological evidence does not convincingly prove the ancient usage of ayahuasca.
... Several reviews set out the basic principles of analytical techniques and their practical application to archaeological research [1,2], such as radiocarbon dating (or other isotopic forms) [3,4], spectroscopies [5,6] or elemental fingerprinting to deduce the elemental composition of artefacts [7,8], and also chromatography to identify small organic molecules [9,10]. Each analytical technique has certain advantages or limitations depending on the sample analysed and the scientific question posed at the outset about a specific type of human activity. ...
... Hair testing has revealed itself as an effective method to detect the consumption of certain drugs and is a widely-accepted technique in the field of Forensic Toxicology 96 . In recent years, chemical analysis of prehistoric human hair has been successfully applied to different cultural contexts [63][64][65][66][67][70][71][72]74 . The study of drug use in Prehistoric Europe has mainly been based on indirect evidence, such as archaeobotanical remains of drug plants, artistic depictions, and occasionally the detection of drug alka- www.nature.com/scientificreports/ ...
Human hair dated to Late Prehistory is exceedingly rare in the Western Mediterranean. Archaeological excavations in the Bronze Age burial and cult cave of Es Càrritx, in Menorca (Balearic Islands) provided some human hair strands involved in a singular funerary rite. This finding offered the opportunity to explore the possible use of drug plants by Late Bronze Age people. Here we show the results of the chemical analyses of a sample of such hair using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). The alkaloids ephedrine, atropine and scopolamine were detected, and their concentrations estimated. These results confirm the use of different alkaloid-bearing plants by local communities of this Western Mediterranean island by the beginning of the first millennium cal BCE.
... C. V. Morton, which is found in the Amazon Rainforest and which is one of the main ingredients of an entheogenic tea known as "ayahuasca". This tea has been used for centuries by indigenous groups of the Amazon in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador for ritual, religious and therapeutic purposes (Schultes et al. 1992;Ogalde et al. 2009). The popularly known formula of ayahuasca is the decoction of the macerated vine of B. caapi (mariri/jagube) with leaves from Psychotria viridis Ruiz & Pav (chacrona/ rainha). ...
Mariri or jagube (Banisteriopsis C. B. Rob.) is a vine of the Malpighiaceae family and is naturally found in the Brazilian Amazon. It is also an important ingredient of ayahuasca tea, which is used by some traditional, indigenous people and religious groups of Amazonian origin. Via DNA barcodes, this study aimed to evaluate the efciency of six markers to access genetic diversity and use them in the iden tifcation of either ethnovarieties or species of Ban isteriopsis used in the preparation of “ayahuasca” in the Amazon. The efciency of three plastid genes (matK/trnK, ndhF, and rcbL) and three nuclear markers (MP3 and yage5 isolated in the present study and ITS—Internal Transcribed Spacer) were tested. For these six markers, a total of 4792 base pairs were sequenced. The plastid markers revealed that all the samples analyzed belong to the genus Banisterio psis; however, they presented the lowest indices of genetic diversity and were not efcient for use in the identifcation of ethnovarieties. Nuclear DNA mark ers showed the highest levels of genetic diversity. The ITS showed the highest values of genetic distances between the identifed lineages. This study demon strates that the use of ITS for DNA barcoding was more efcient since the identifed lineages showed correspondence with the ethnovarieties of Baniste riopsis spp. used in the preparation of ayahuasca. As such, we encourage new integrative studies like this one, which combines modern approaches and tradi tional knowledge, to contribute to the maintenance of traditional knowledge as well as the conservation of species.
... The consumption of ayahuasca by present-day users is said to cause feelings described by some as near-death experiences accompanied by vomiting, diarrhoea, motor disability, muscle spasms, and vertigo. However, according to some scholars, in pre-Columbian times, the ayahuasca beverage did not include Psychotria viridis (Brown, 2013;Miller et al., 2019;Ogalde et al., 2009). The traditional ayahuascas made by modern communities in the Amazonian rainforest do not always contain DMT, or if they do, it is at a very low level (Callaway, 2011). ...
... The analysis of the organic residues from the bundle revealed the presence of bufotenine, DMT, harmine, psilocin, cocaine, and benzoylecgonine. The results of the analysis of the samples of hair of the mummies from Azapa Valley, Chile, dated for the MH, and of the mummies of children sacrificed during the capacocha ritual from the Ampato mountain, showed the presence of harmine and lack of N,N-DMT (Ogalde et al., 2009;Socha et al., 2022). As shown in the analysis of mummies from northern Chile, conducted by Emma Brown (2013), the N,N-DMT alkaloid could be absent in ancient hair samples even if other derivatives (like bufotenine) were detected. ...
... The metabolism of β-carbolines is rapid, so high concentration and regular consumption of the substance is required for the introduction of harmine into hair keratin. The amount taken into the hair of individual NS019 far exceeded any previous investigated ancient samples (Ogalde et al., 2009;Socha et al., 2022), suggesting a possible shamanistic occupation of this individual, or that he was undergoing the healing process involving the consumption of Banisteriopsis. ...
The preservation of naturally mummified bodies in the Nazca drainage and Yauca Valley provided an opportunity to analyse for the first time which of the psychoactive plants were used on the southern Peruvian coast. Toxicological analysis allows us to better understand the ancient medicine, trade network and religiosity of the region of interest. Hair samples of 22 individuals (including four trophy heads) were examined using LC-MS/MS for the presence of coca alkaloids and metabolites (cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene), mescaline, trypt-amine, harmaline, and harmine. LC-MS/MS was performed using electrospray ionization (ESI) in the positive mode, multiple reaction monitoring, and a deuterated internal standard (Diazepam-D5). The limits of quanti-fication achieved for analytes were from 1 to 5 ng/g. Recoveries ranged from 91,6 to 113,7%. The method demonstrated an intraday and interday precision CV of <15%.
The results of the study show that coca leaves were present on the southern Peruvian coast since the Early Nazca Period (100 BCE-450 CE). The Nazca inhabitants were also positive tested for the presence of harmine and harmaline coming probably form Banisteriopsis caapi (the main compound of the hallucinogenic ayahuasca beverage), and the San Pedro cactus, a source of mescaline. This is the oldest archaeological evidence of the consumption of these two plants. In modern medicine, the properties of harmine have led to its use in anti-depression and anti-addiction treatment. Banisteriopsis caapi is native to the Amazonian rainforest and had to be the object of long-distance trade, which showed its important role in ancient medicine and rituals. San Pedro cactus is taken for its strong hallucinogenic properties and was detected in hair belonging to a child victim whose head was transformed into a trophy head. This is the first proof that some of the victims transformed into trophy heads were given stimulants prior to their death.
... Ethyl glucuronide [52] and psychoactive drugs (e.g., cocaine) [53][54][55][56][57][58][59] have also been detected on mummies centuries after death, showing a long and deep-rooted incidence of these xenobiotics in cultures from different countries. The production and consumption of alcoholic beverages since 11,000 BCE have been associated mainly with religion, medicinal practices, dietary supplementation, and social cohesion [60][61][62]. ...
... Caffeine and nicotine dependence has also intensified over the centuries, with some experts believing that it is due to the increase in the world population and the documented consumption among people of a young age [71][72][73][74]. Finally, the detection of harmine in mummies (n=32) dated from 500-1000 CE [56] validates the large period in which ayahuasca -a tea with psychoactive properties -has been ingested in South America by indigenous and non-indigenous people [75]. It was only in 2010 that the Brazilian government recognised ayahuasca as part of the Amazonian cultural heritage and regulated its consumption in religious contexts [76]. ...
From palaeopathology to forensic taphonomy, human mummified bodies constitute biological archives of paramount importance. Toxicology analysis of endobiotics and xenobiotics has already shown value to archaeological mummies research with the detection of heavy metals, sedative-hypnotic drugs, and stimulants. Thanks to the large window of drug detection in hair and nails, the information gained from such studies has increased the scientific community’s knowledge regarding past populations’ lifestyles. Still, few bibliographic references exist regarding toxicology reports in mummified bodies from forensic settings. Here, the authors aim to draw attention to the valuable contribution of toxicology analysis taking into account previously conducted studies and their findings. Given that sample collection on mummified bodies from forensic scenarios may not always happen in laboratories or autopsy rooms, the authors also suggest a set of guidelines for in situ sampling of forensic mummies. It is expected that the present technical note will encourage experts to perform toxicology analysis in mummified bodies and publish their case reports more often.
... roots and tubers) and seeds; phytoliths are more frequent and diagnostic in monocot families, such as grasses and palms, but are either undiagnostic or absent in the majority of woody dicotyledon families; hard fruit pits and seed coats are often represented in charred remains; and pollen is more plentiful from wind pollinated taxa, but only preserves in anoxic conditions. Some of the understudied or under-preserved diversity is found in sites with exceptional preservation outside of the Amazon, as is the case for psychoactive plants found in northern Chile (Ogalde et al. 2009) or the Middle Holocene use of chili peppers on the Pacific coast of Peru (Chiou et al. 2014), while more can be estimated about toxic, entheogenic, and medicinal plants from modern documentation or by chemical techniques such as chromatography (e.g., Miller et al. 2019). Table 8.1 provides a summary of archaeobotanical data so far available for the Amazon which, given all the above factors, likely represents a very small fraction of the true diversity of species utilized in these sites and in the Amazon in general. ...
This Report provides a comprehensive, objective, open, transparent, systematic, and rigorous scientific assessment of the state of the Amazon’s ecosystems, current trends, and their implications for the long-term well-being of the region, as well as opportunities and policy relevant options for conservation and sustainable development.
... Harmine was detected in only two archaeological samples of the hair from the Azapa Valley, Chile, dated for the Middle Horizon (Ogalde et al., 2009). In both cases, the N,N-DMT was not found. ...
... Unfortunately, it is unknown whether the source of DMT was Psychotria viridis or Anadenanthera. According to some scholars, the combination of Banisteropsis caapi with Psychotria viridis was developed in more recent times and the lianas were used for a therapeutic purpose (Brown, 2014;Miller et al., 2019;Ogalde et al., 2009;Torres et al., 2015). The substances could be both snuffed (as yopo) or drunk (as ayahuasca; Miller et al., 2019;Rodd, 2002). ...
... The analysis of the individuals from different sites, including burials with snuff trays, did not show positive results for the presence of DMT, even if other metabolites like bufotenine were present (Brown, 2014;Echeverría and Niemeyer, 2013;Knobloch, 2000). Similar results were yielded by the analysis of the individuals from Azapa Valley where harmine was detected with a lack of tryptamine (Ogalde et al., 2009). The analysis of modern-day ayahuasca made from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotropia virdis by Brazilian Church União do Vegetal revealed that it does not contain DMT at all, and other traditional variations prepared by different ethnic groups sometimes also contain a very low level of tryptamine (Callaway, 2005). ...
Hallucinogenic plants and psychotropic stimulants performed an important role in the beliefs, rituals and divination practices in the ancient Andes. The aim of this article is to present the results of toxicological studies of two individuals immolated over 500 years ago during a capacocha ritual on the mountain of Ampato mountain in southern Peru. The capacocha was one of the most significant ceremonies carried out in the Inca Empire. During the ritual, the Incas sacrificed children and young women who were supposed to be beautiful and unblemished.
The hair and nails of two Ampato mummies were examined using LC-MS/MS for the presence of coca alkaloids and metabolites (cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene), mescaline, tryptamine, harmaline and harmine. The results of the study show that during the last weeks of the victims’ lives, they chewed on coca leaves and were intoxicated by ayahuasca, a beverage made primarily from the Banisteriopsis caapi. In modern medicine, the properties of harmine led to the use of ayahuasca in the treatment of depression. Chroniclers mentioned the importance of the victims’ moods. The Incas may have consciously used the antidepressant properties of Banisteriopsis caapi to reduce the anxiety and depressive states of the victims.
... The use of ayahuasca for therapeutic purposes is not new. Rather, it is a very ancient practice, probably dating back millennia according to indigenous peoples, and some centuries according to Western studies (Brabec de Mori, 2011;George et al., 2020;Miller et al., 2019;Ogalde et al., 2009;Samorini, 2019). Noted by naturalists like Richard Spruce in the 19th century, ethnobotanists like Antonio Maria Barriga-Villalba and Richard Evans Schultes in the first half of the 20th century and many other scholars ever since (Schultes, 1968;Stafford, 2013), the therapeutic use of ayahuasca is widespread among the indigenous people of the Amazon basin and also plays an important role in ayahuasca's globalization. ...
After decades of biomedical research on ayahuasca's molecular compounds and their physiological effects, recent clinical trials show evidence of therapeutic potential for depression.
However, indigenous peoples have been using ayahuasca therapeutically for a very long time, and thus we question the epistemic authority attributed to scientific studies, proposing that epistemic injustices were committed with practical, cultural, social and legal consequences.
We question epistemic authority based on the double-blind design, the molecularization discourse and contextual issues about safety. We propose a new approach to foster epistemically fair research, outlining how to enforce indigenous rights, considering the Brazilian, Peruvian and Colombian cases. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their biocultural heritage, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, including traditional medicine practices. New regulations about ayahuasca must respect the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples according to the International Labor Organization Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention nº 169. The declaration of the ayahuasca complex as a national cultural heritage may prevent patenting from third parties, fostering the development of traditional medicine. When involving isolated compounds derived from traditional knowledge, benefit sharing agreements are mandatory according to the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity.
Considering the extremely high demand to treat millions of depressed patients, the medicalization of ayahuasca without adequate regulation respectful of indigenous rights can be detrimental to indigenous peoples and their management of local environments, potentially harming the sustainability of the plants and of the Amazon itself, which is approaching its dieback tipping point.
