Ayahuasca

At a glance

Origin / distribution: Colombia(Choco), Sa(Amazon), Amerindian, Peru(Quechua), Colombia, Peru, BR

Cultural traditions: not documented

Recorded uses: Hallucinogen, Narcotic, Psychedelic

Science studied: ACETYL-NORHARMINE, N,N-DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE, HARMALINE, HARMALOL

Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗

Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.

Names and identity

Family: Malpighiaceae

Scientific name: Banisteriopsis caapi

Common names: Ayahuasca, Caapi, Yage, Soul Vine, Spirit Vine, Airo yaje, Amazoninajahuaskaliaani<!--, Anttepo’cho’su yaje, Ayahuasca de río, Ayawaska, Barbasco, Barbasco makuma, Bejuco amargo, Bejuco bravo, Dapa, Hua’i yaje, Inzapa, Mariri, Mii, Napi, Naso yaje, Naso ãnya yaje

History

The source record documents this plant in Colombia(Choco), Elsewhere, Sa(Amazon), Amerindian, Peru(Quechua), Colombia, Peru, BR.

It records these historical or traditional applications:

• Hallucinogen
• Narcotic
• Psychedelic

This summary is limited to the cited source record.

Origins and distribution

• Colombia(Choco)
• Elsewhere
• Sa(Amazon)
• Amerindian
• Peru(Quechua)
• Colombia
• Peru
• BR

Documented cultural uses

• Hallucinogen
• Narcotic
• Psychedelic

Contemporary uses

Contemporary practice is not documented separately in this record.

Scientific research

Indexed records indicate research activity; they do not establish efficacy or safety.

Indexed research records

• Effects of Chronic &lt;i&gt;Banisteriopsis caapi&lt;/i&gt; Extract Administration on Fibrillar Amyloid Deposition and Microglial Morphology in Aged PDGFB-APPSwInd Mice. · 2026 source ↗
• Machine learning recovers folk classification of &lt;i&gt;Banisteriopsis caapi&lt;/i&gt; from herbarium leaves an ayahuasca liana. · 2026 source ↗
• Comparative chromosome-scale genomics of the ayahuasca liana <i>Banisteriopsis caapi</i> reveals paleopolyploid ancestry and recent tandem-gene expansions as candidate signatures of ethnovariety differentiation · 2026 source ↗

Scientific compounds

Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.

• ACETYL-NORHARMINE
• N,N-DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE
• HARMALINE
• HARMALOL
• HARMIC-ACID-METHYL-METHYLESTER
• HARMIC-AMIDE
• 5-HYDROXY-N,N-DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE
• N-METHYLTRYPTAMINE
• SAPONIN
• SHIHUNINE
• TETRAHYDROHARMINE
• HARMINES
• 5-METHOXY-N,N-DIMETHYLTRYPTAMINE
• DIHYDROSHIHUNINE
• HARMALINIC-ACID
• HARMINE-N-OXIDE

Legality

Country-specific legal status is not documented in this record.

Consult the CITES species checklist for international trade protections and listings. This is not a complete statement of local law.

Reference images

Sources

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases · CC0

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0

CC0 · Dr. Duke raw CSV archive

Contributions and revisions

No published revisions are documented for this record. Community submissions enter review and retain attribution before any published change.