Ayahuasca Beverages: Phytochemical Analysis and Biological Properties.

Joana Gonçalves,Ana Paula Duarte,Ângelo Luís,Nicolás Fernández,José Restolho,Ana Gradillas,Eugenia Gallardo,Antonia García,Fernanda Domingues

doi:10.3390/antibiotics9110731

Abstract

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage, originally consumed by indigenous Amazon tribes, of which consumption has been increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical profile, as well as the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of decoctions of four individual plants, a commercial mixture and four mixtures of two individual plants used in the Ayahuasca preparation. For this purpose, a phytochemical characterization was performed, determining the content of flavonoids, total phenolic compounds, and analyzing the phenolic profile. Besides, 48 secondary metabolites were investigated by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS) and their concentration estimated with real standards when present. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by both the β-carotene bleaching test and DPPH free radical scavenging assay, and the anti-inflammatory activity was determined by a protein denaturation method. Finally, the antimicrobial properties were evaluated using the disc diffusion assay, resazurin microtiter method, anti-quorum sensing and anti-biofilm activity assays. The obtained results showed that, in general, the samples have a high content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids with noticeable differences, reflecting on remarkable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Significant antimicrobial properties were also observed, with emphasis on the effect of B. caapi and P. harmala on planktonic and biofilm cells of A. baumannii, inhibiting both the biofilm formation and the production of violacein pigment.

Highlights

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage that has been consumed for centuries [1,2]
Considering the potential effects of Ayahuasca, in this work, the biological activities of the plant materials used in the preparation of this beverage, namely antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, were evaluated
Individual decoctions of each plant used in the preparation of Ayahuasca were prepared

Summary

Introduction

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive beverage that has been consumed for centuries [1,2]. Originally, it was used by indigenous tribes in the Northwest Amazon for therapeutic purposes and divine rituals; it has expanded, being consumed worldwide [3,4,5]. Antibiotics 2020, 9, 731 origin and derives from the words “aya”, which means “spirit”, and “huasca”, meaning “vine” [1,2,4,5,6]. The significance of this beverage, known as yajé, daime, vegetal, capi, nate, hoasca, natema, can be translated as “vine of the dead” or “vine of the soul” [2,4,7,8]. Ayahuasca consisted of a decoction prepared with the leaves of the Psychotria viridis bush and scraps of the stem of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine. In the case of B. caapi, besides to analogs of natural origin (Peganum harmala), there are synthetic analogs (tetrahydroharmine freebase/HCl, moclobemide and harmine freebase/HCl) that can replace the use of the traditional plant [1,3,10,11]

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Conclusion