Abstract
Pharmaco- or psycho-active compounds in traditional medicines or in plants used during neoshamanic rituals can sometimes lead to the (re-) discovery of new drugs for chronic pain, anxiety, depression or schizophrenia. Neoshamanic rituals fulfill the needs for healing and transformation of a number of people, who are partly dissatisfied with the absence of certain healing aspects in western medicine. A recent neoshamanic ritual is based on the administration of a resin from the Blue Nile Flower (Nymphaea caerulea), also referred to as Blue Lotus or Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile). This extract contains a number of alkaloids such as aporphine and nuciferine, although the quality of commercial available extracts is highly variable. We will discuss the biological effects of nuciferine, a compound which may be of value for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, and discuss the use of Blue Nile Flower in rituals from a transpersonal psychological perspective. Nuciferine has an enriched pharmacological profile, with affinities for a number of serotonergic and dopaminergic receptors. Nuciferine and its derivatives might lead to a new family of atypical antipsychotic compounds. Furthermore, a recent identified mechanism of action related to its anti-inflammatory activity, suggest this molecule might also play a role in the treatment of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Highlights
New neoshamanic rituals are developed in various European countries and the USA, based on the use of psychoactive extracts from plants, such as ayahuasca, peyote, iboga, Salvia divinorum and mushrooms, or based on amphibian secretions, such as in Kambo
A recent neoshamanic ritual is based on the administration of a resin from the Blue Nile Flower (Nymphaea caerulea), referred to as Blue Lotus or Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile)
A recent identified mechanism of action related to its anti-inflammatory activity, suggest this molecule might play a role in the treatment of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder
Summary
New neoshamanic rituals are developed in various European countries and the USA, based on the use of psychoactive extracts from plants, such as ayahuasca, peyote, iboga, Salvia divinorum and mushrooms, or based on amphibian secretions, such as in Kambo. The writer was subsequently offered the opportunity to attend a neoshamanic ritual in the Netherlands, where a tea from the Blue Nile Flower (Nymphaea caerulea) was served. The suggested spiritual-neoshamanic effects of the plant are recently described as:’ The Blue Lotus is connected to the expansion of the higher mind It eases the spirit out of the body and assists it forward towards its highest potential in the realm of Spirit. This description directs illustrates the recent transpersonal context of the use of this plant
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