THE INSERTION OF AYAHUASCA AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR DEPRESSION TREATMENT Daphne Seguro e Silva, Felipe Conceição Luz, Jenniffer Aparecida Barros Esposito, José Eduardo Pandini Cardoso Filho

Abstract

Madrecita, Ayahuasquita, madre, Yagé or Liana of the Dead, are words that we can use to baptize Ayahuasca. This herb has antidepressant pharmacological action, in addition to the therapeutic potential it showed when compared to other antidepressants in preliminarily studies carried out at the Federal University of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (SP). The plant can be used in the preparation of tea with Jagube vine, which is scalded made with the leaves of another plant, Psychotria viridis, also known as chacrona. The species frequently used are Banisteriopsis caapi, which has betacarbolines as active principles (harmine, harmaline and tetra-hydroharmine) and Psychotria viridis, which has dimethyltryptamine as an active principle (DMT – also known for its hallucinogenic effects). These compounds act on the maintenance of the level of serotonin in brain, the neurotransmitter that provides to individual feelings of well-being, regulating mood and feelings of satiety, thus expressing the therapeutic and pharmacological antidepressant potential, according to data verifications presented in academic articles about studies in humans and rodents. The results show the viability of inserting an alternative treatment option for depression, a commonly encountered but serious pathology that interferes in daily life. In this way, through the data available in Scholar Google and Scielo the profilefor use is evaluated, Ayahuasca components as harmaline, harmine, tetra-hydroarmine and DMT, emphasizing pharmacological effects and action mechanism, contraindications, colateral effects and toxicology as well as analysis of the results and comparison to other antidepressives that already exist through flowcharts presented.