“The aim of our project is to understand how the ayahuasca plants Psychotria viridis and Banisteriopsis caapi have evolved across time and place.”
The ayahuasca phytochemistry project
“The overall aim is to create a robust database that informs the future of ayahuasca conservation and pharmacology.”
Transcript abstract
This presentation outlines a proposal for an upcoming PhD project. Recent years have seen the global expansion of ayahuasca. Its popularity has the potential to be of great benefit to the collective human condition. However, with the rapid increase of consumption, questions have been raised about the sustainability of the plants as well as the composition and quality of the brews. In response this project proposes to document the current state of ayahuasca. The project’s objective is to conduct a phytochemical and ethnobotanical survey of ayahuasca to document the various preparations and admixture plants. The project will examine the collected ayahuasca samples to determine the identity of their known ingredients and chemical composition. The overall aim is to create a robust database that informs the future of ayahuasca conservation and pharmacology.
