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Therapeutic use of ayahuasca: a review of the evidence of its use in approaching depressive disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

G. Simões*
Affiliation:
Baixo Vouga Hospital Centre - EPE, Psychiatry And Mental Health Department, Aveiro, Portugal
S. Jesus
Affiliation:
Baixo Vouga Hospital Centre - EPE, Psychiatry And Mental Health Department, Aveiro, Portugal
R. Silva
Affiliation:
Baixo Vouga Hospital Centre - EPE, Psychiatry And Mental Health Department, Aveiro, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Ayahuasca (AYA) is a psychotropic plant from South America used for religious purposes by indigenous people of the Amazon. Increasing evidence indicates that AYA may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of mental health disorders like depression – a common life-disrupting, highly recurrent disorder – that is among the leading causes of disability worldwide.

Objectives

The aim of this exploratory study is to gather and assess scientific evidence about clinical effects of AYA in the treatment and symptomatological expression of patients with depression.

Methods

A literature research was conducted on PubMed, starting from the MeSH terms: “Banisteriopsis” and “Depression”. Results corresponding to investigations using AYA, and based on an adult population with depressive disorders, were selected for our analysis.

Results

The research provided 8 results, of which 6 met the defined criteria. Different types of studies with variable samples were considered, including retrospective and prospective observational studies, meta-analysis and a narrative review. Overall, evidence about the use of AYA in depressive disorders is associated to reductions in depression scales, to significant antidepressant effects and in mediating improvement of grief symptoms. AYA administration increased introspection and positive mood, self-acceptance, empathy, openness and potentiated improvements in emotional processing. The underlying potential mechanisms, adverse effects and the current limitations related to its study and use are analysed and discussed.

Conclusions

The use of AYA in depression shows promising results that should be further explored in controlled trials with larger sample sizes, in order to better evaluate its clinical effects, safety profile and related short and long-term effects.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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