Chacruna
Psychotria viridisRubiaceae // leaves
Also known as: chacruna, chacrona
Preparation
Overview
Plant parts
leaves
Known constituents
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
Research corpus coverage
Chemistry notes
- Principal reported constituents include N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT); broad class: serotonergic psychedelic (5-HT2A agonism).
Uses & Evidence
Traditional / historical use
Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.
No traditional-use records in this corpus.
Modern evidence
Frequently confused with other Psychotria species and with Diplopterys cabrerana.
MODERATE · Psychotria viridis: Chemical constituents from leaves and biological properties.
Identity/attribution caution.
Safety
Human
- High risk
Safety severity is HIGH: acute psychological distress and autonomic effects; combination risks dominate
Intrinsic toxicity · HIGH · Psychotria viridis: Chemical constituents from leaves and biological properties.
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: acute psychological distress and autonomic effects; combination risks dominate
HIGH · Psychotria viridis: Chemical constituents from leaves and biological properties.
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 Palicourea viridis (Ruiz & Pav.) Schult. as a taxonomic synonym of Psychotria viridis.
HIGH · GBIF Species Synonyms API
Common name
chacruna, chacrona
Traditions
Amazonian ayahuasca traditions
western Amazonia // modern ethnobotanical documentation with older continuity claims // living tradition
Ethnobotanical
Chacruna is documented in Amazonian ayahuasca traditions in western Amazonia for admixture in ceremonial ayahuasca.
HIGH · Psychotria viridis: Chemical constituents from leaves and biological properties.
Ritual
Documented functions include visionary, spirit-contact, healing; these functions are tradition-specific and should not be generalized across cultures.
HIGH · Psychotria viridis: Chemical constituents from leaves and biological properties.
Legal
Legal status changes over time and by jurisdiction — this is a dated snapshot, not current law.
International · Checked 2026-08-09
Varies substantially by country; constituent controls and plant-specific controls are not uniform.
State / municipal · Checked 2026-08-09
Material state and municipal variation may apply; verify jurisdiction at time of use.
US Federal · Checked 2026-08-09
Plant itself is not specifically scheduled federally; extracted or prepared DMT is Schedule I.
Sources
Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.
peer-reviewed article
- 21 CFR 1308.11 — Schedule I1 claim
government/regulatory source
- GBIF Species Synonyms API1 claim
authoritative taxonomic database