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First-Ever Study Looks At Ayahuasca’s Impact On DNA Expression
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First-Ever Study Looks At Ayahuasca’s Impact On DNA Expression

An early-stage study shows promising results for a plant medicine that has been used for at least 1,000 years.

Social & Lifestyle

A recent, early-stage study in the field of psychedelic research asked a new question: it considered how a psychedelic might impact the expression of human DNA. While the study had its limitations, it shows promising results for a plant medicine that has been used for at least 1,000 years by Indigenous peoples living in the Amazon basin.

While in some traditions, ayahuasca was reserved for shamans and curanderos, its popularity among North Americans and Europeans has increased significantly in the last two decades, and with more and more Westerners willing to hand over cash in their quest for healing, ayahuasca tourism has become a multi-million dollar industry.

An entheogenic brew typically made using the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, ayahuasca contains the active compound N-N-Dimethyltryptamine (more commonly known as DMT) and is known to induce intense visions and mystical experiences.

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First Epigenetic Study On A Psychedelic

Dr. Simon Ruffell of Kings College London led the observational study with fellow researchers Nige Netzband and WaiFung Tsang. The team looked at the use of ayahuasca by 63 mostly white participants who attended a traditional Shipibo retreat, and its effects on their mental health. It was conducted at a purpose-built research center operated by the Ayahuasca Foundation in Iquitos, Peru, which works in partnership with the Allpahuayo-Mishana community on a national reserve.

The research team collected inventory surveys before and after participants’ retreats, and then again six months later to look primarily at depression, anxiety, and self-compassion, as well as mindfulness, general well-being, the perception of traumatic memories, and other secondary measures. They also collected saliva samples.