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Ayahuasca vine

Banisteriopsis caapi

Malpighiaceae // stem/vine

Also known as: caapi, yagé, jagube, mariri

Safety warning on record — see SafetyLegal status varies by jurisdiction — see Legal

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Uses & evidence

Uses and evidence recorded
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Preparation

No preparation information recorded

Safety

Safety cautions recorded
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Research

No linked research on file
Open research →

Overview

Plant parts

stem/vine

Known constituents

harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine

Research corpus coverage

Ethnobotanical / entheogenicPet safety

Chemistry notes

  • Principal reported constituents include harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine; broad class: reversible MAO-A inhibition; beta-carbolines.

Uses & Evidence

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

No traditional-use records in this corpus.

Modern evidence

  • Many named ethnovars; botanical identity and alkaloid profiles vary.

    MODERATE · Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects

    Identity/attribution caution.

Safety

Human

  • High risk

    Safety severity is HIGH: nausea/vomiting; cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric adverse events are reported

    Intrinsic toxicity · HIGH · Banisteriopsis caapi, a unique combination of MAO inhibitory and antioxidative constituents for the activities relevant to neurodegenerative disorders and Parkinson's disease.

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

  • Safety severity is HIGH: nausea/vomiting; cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric adverse events are reported

    HIGH · Banisteriopsis caapi, a unique combination of MAO inhibitory and antioxidative constituents for the activities relevant to neurodegenerative disorders and Parkinson's disease.

Preparation × species risk matrix

Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.

Cats

  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • essential oilUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Dogs

  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • essential oilUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Identity

  • Synonym

    GBIF lists Banisteria caapi Spruce as a taxonomic synonym of Banisteriopsis caapi.

    HIGH · GBIF Species Synonyms API

Common name

caapi, yagé, jagube, mariri

Traditions

Multiple Indigenous Amazonian traditions; later Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and Barquinha

Amazon basin // precolonial use documented indirectly; colonial/modern ethnography // living tradition

  • Ethnobotanical

    Ayahuasca vine is documented in Multiple Indigenous Amazonian traditions; later Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and Barquinha in Amazon basin for ceremonial healing and divination in combination brews.

    HIGH · Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects

  • Ritual

    Documented functions include healing, divinatory, visionary, spirit-contact, social; these functions are tradition-specific and should not be generalized across cultures.

    HIGH · Ayahuasca: A review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects

Sources

Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.