Banisteriopsis caapi, black vine

The active substances of this climbing plant are found inside the root in freshly cut stems. Banisteriopsis caapi acts as an MAO inhibitor. This means that it prevents certain chemicals from being destroyed by the human brain, such as psilocybin from magic mushrooms and DMT from the plants mimosa hostilis, psychotria viridis and phalaris arundinacea and tryptamines in mushrooms.

Banisteriopsis caapi intensifies the effect of mushrooms and makes DMT effective. The combination of an MAO inhibitor and a DMT-containing plant is usually called 'ayahuasca'.

Effects

First you may feel nauseous. If you have to vomit do not try to control it. In this case vomiting has a purifying effect, both physically and mentally. Nausea can be the physical symbol of the discharge of emotions that you normally do not like to confront. After vomiting you will feel much better and appreciate the trip much more.
The first visions will appear after 45 - 60 minutes, and you may experience a religious ecstasy. The visions may consist of intense colors and shapes of flowers, fireworks and mandalas. Depending on the dosage you may be transported to wild worlds inhabited by exotic animals (usually jaguars, reptiles and insects), ancestors, gods, aliens and monsters.
You may be confronted with your own fears and frustrations, but do not panic or try to avoid them.

The indigenous doctors harvest this plant, which when cut is called "palo", and prepare with it the purga, a concoction cooked for more than ten hours, a mixture of Banisteriopsis caapi trunk with leaves of chacruna(Psychotria viridis) or Diplopterys cabrerana. Although it is true that the mixture with chacruna is one of the most common, the variability in the composition of ayahuasca is very wide. However, its basic reference component will be the Banisteriopsis caapi vine.

The concoction, of brown color, woody smell, extremely bitter and dry taste, has entheogenic properties that directly affect the consciousness, or the ability to explain the environment, time and the body's own perception. Mentally it can produce a very lucid state of consciousness and visions that can be interpreted or experienced by the educated.

Psychotria viridis would contribute to the ayahausca infusions, in its case, the molecule dimethyltryptamine or DMT. If one considers the very low concentration of DMT that these plants contribute to the resulting infusion in comparison with the standard levels of psychoactivity proven for the oral ingestion of DMT, one realizes the pharmacological complexity of this infusion and will understand the reason for its low toxicity.

Some ethnic groups use the fresh or dried bark to produce a moderate stimulant effect when chewed.

Ayahuasca has a millenary origin among the Amazonian cultures of Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, being the ethnic groups of the Urarinas and the Shipibo Conibo of Peru some of the most important representatives of its use and practice in their ceremonies and healing rites since ancient times.

The right to use this plant, considered a sacred medicine by the cosmovisions and ancestral traditions of the original peoples of the South American jungles, is exclusively limited to those subjects who have received the instructions for its proper administration. This knowledge comes from a tradition that has subsisted for millennia. There are testimonies of its misuse, especially if it is used outside of its traditional contexts, in cases where it has caused serious health problems, generally of an emotional nature, in people who have used ayahuasca without being properly trained or gifted to do so.

Warning

B. caapi contains MAO inhibitors substances. This means that it can be very dangerous when combined with certain medications, foods or other psychoactives that are totally harmless when taken by themselves.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs):

DMT(N-dimethyltryptamine) is a tryptamine alkaloid present in numerous plants such as Mimosa hostilis, Diplopterys cabrerana, Desmanthus illinoensis, Psychotria viridis and Phalaris arundinacea, is not effective when ingested orally. This is because it is broken down in the body by the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO). MAO is an important enzyme that destroys certain chemical compounds, such as drugs and poisons.

MAO enzyme inhibitors interfere with the action of the enzyme and stop the breakdown of chemical compounds such as DMT, making it effective when taken orally. This is the fundamental principle of the traditional visionary medicine Ayahuasca.

With the right proportions, hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelic substances can be used together with MAO inhibitors. By mixing these substances with MAO inhibitors, the effect will last longer and be more intense.

MAO inhibitors should be used with great caution, otherwise normal foods can become poisonous. The results can be dangerous: headaches, nausea, loss of consciousness and death. In the shamanic tradition, MAO inhibitors are used after at least one day of fasting.

List of substances

They should not be taken at least 24 hours before and after taking an MAOI:

Prohibited Foods: avocado, caviar and substitutes, chocolate, sausages, yeasts, beans, liver, dried figs, dried and pickled fish, bananas, cheeses, coffee, beer, alcoholic beverages....
Recommended foods: Cereals, pasta, rice, eggs and legumes.

No other drugs, whether natural or synthetic, should be ingested, as many interfere with MAOIs and could have very serious consequences.

The combination of MAOIs with other substances may cause a hypertensive crisis (sudden and extreme rise in blood pressure) which may lead to the rupture of an artery in the brain, i.e. a cerebrovascular accident.