Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory, Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, University of South Santa Catarina, Av. José Acácio Moreira, 787, Dehon, 88704-900, Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Behav Brain Res. 2021 Feb 26;400:113003. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113003. Epub 2020 Nov 6.
Ayahuasca is a decoction with psychoactive properties, used for millennia for therapeutic and religious purposes by indigenous groups and the population of amazonian countries. As described in this narrative review, it is essentially constituted by β-carbolines and tryptamines, and it has therapeutic effects on behavioral disorders due to the inhibition of the monoamine oxidase enzyme and the activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors, demonstrated through preclinical and clinical studies. It was recently observed that the pharmacological response presented by ayahuasca is linked to its anti-inflammatory action, attributed mainly to dimethyltryptamines (N, N-dimethyltryptamine and 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine), which act as endogenous systemic regulators of inflammation and immune homeostasis, also through sigma-1 receptors. Therefore, since neuroinflammation is among the main pathophysiological mechanisms related to the development of neurological and psychiatric diseases, we suggest, based on the available evidence, that ayahuasca is a promising and very safe therapeutic strategy since extremely high doses are required to reach toxicity. However, even so, additional studies are needed to confirm such evidence, as well as the complete elucidation of the mechanisms involved.
阿育吠陀是一种具有精神活性的煎剂，几千年来，土著群体和亚马逊国家的人民一直将其用于治疗和宗教目的。正如本综述所述，它主要由β-咔啉和色胺组成，通过临床前和临床研究证明，它对行为障碍具有治疗作用，这是由于单胺氧化酶的抑制和 5-羟色胺受体的激活。最近观察到，阿育吠陀呈现的药理反应与其抗炎作用有关，主要归因于二甲色胺（N，N-二甲基色胺和 5-甲氧基-N，N-二甲基色胺），它们作为炎症和免疫内稳态的内源性全身调节剂，也通过 sigma-1 受体起作用。因此，鉴于神经炎症是与神经和精神疾病发展相关的主要病理生理机制之一，我们根据现有证据提出，阿育吠陀是一种很有前途且非常安全的治疗策略，因为需要极高的剂量才能达到毒性。然而，即使如此，仍需要更多的研究来证实这一证据，以及对所涉及的机制进行完整的阐明。
