Harmala Alkaloids

No one is sure just how long harmala alkaloids have been utilized by humans for their intoxicant properties, but the practice is certainly very old, and geographically widespread. One well known source of the drug in Eurasia is the seeds of Peganum harmala, thought to have originated near Syria, where its use spread across the middle east as a spice, a medicine, and an intoxicant. Soon Arab traders had distributed the seeds and the knowledge of their psychotropic properties to India, Spain and Mediterranean Africa. The seeds of Peganum harmala (known in the west as Syrian Rue) contain harmine, harmaline and several other alkaloids which function as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). These are enzymes that inhibit the metabolism of important monoamines like serotonin and norepinephrine, thus stimulating the nervous system in various ways.

Syrian Rue, Yuriy75.

In South America, various species of Banisteriopsis are used for the same purposes, with the potent alkaloids being concentrated in the root bark of these viney plants. These species are found in the elevated, tropical headwaters of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers, situated between the Andes and the rainforest.Several other plant sources for these harmala alkaloids can be found all over the world, including tobacco leaves in North America, and several passion flower species spread throughout Oceania, Southeast Asia and the Americas.

Banisteriopsis caapi vines, Terpsichore.

Peganum harmala is described in classical Persian literature as a sacred sacrament and medicine. It was typically used to make a tea, that has mild hallucinogenic properties. With strong doses, however, intense hypnagogic visions can be accompanied by severe vomiting. The same harmala alkaloids are found in Banisteriopsis root bark, which is used alone or in combination with a DMT-containing plant to make the famous Ayahuasca of the Peruvian shamans, by which visionary states of consciousness are sought. In this case, the MAOI properties of the alkaloids facilitate the metabolism of DMT and other tryptamines. At high doses harmala alkaloids are a strong purgative, though they have been used to treat Parkinson's disease and several forms of cancer.