Abstract
This study was conducted in the city of Iquitos (Peruvian Amazon) where the vast majority of indigenous healers use the psychotropic beverage ayahuasca, which owes its powerful effect mainly to the combination of two plant species, Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V. Morton and Psychotria viridis Ruiz & Pav. Brebaje palo is an alternative psychotropic drink, which has a similar effect to that of ayahuasca but is prepared with other plants. This research aimed to understand the preparation, the modality of the healing session, the efficiency, and the pharmacognosy of this drink and compare it to ayahuasca. It was found that brebaje palo, made with bark of different plants, has similar characteristics to ayahuasca. Alkaloids are present in brebaje palo and this could explain the psychotropic activity of the beverage that may be considered an alternative to ayahuasca. Recently, the ecological sustainability of the species used as ingredients of brebaje palo and ayahuasca was studied, as they might be threatened due to the intense and indiscriminate use in the region.
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