SynthesisRevista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999)2016
Antidepressive and anxiolytic effects of ayahuasca: a systematic literature review of animal and human studies.
Synthesis in Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of ayahuasca in preclinical studies with animals: a systematic review.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of ayahuasca and its alkaloids on substance use disorders: an updated (2016-2020) systematic review of preclinical and human studies.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of an innovative psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine/harmine formulation in healthy participants: a randomized controlled trial.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- Psychedelics in treatment-resistant depression: a comprehensive review of mechanisms, clinical evidence, and recommendations.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2026Review
- Short- and Long-Acting Psychedelics: Structure-Activity Relationships, Pharmacology, and Implications for Neuropsychiatric Therapeutics.ACS chemical neuroscience · 2026Review
- Psychedelic Therapies for Comorbid Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Pain: A Review of Putative Mechanisms of Action.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Review
- Effects of selected alkaloids on postnatal neurogenesis - in vivo and in vitro studies - literature review.Psychopharmacology · 2025Review
- Immunomodulatory and behavioral effects of ayahuasca and N, N-dimethyltryptamine in a rat model of lipopolysaccharide-induced depression.Metabolic brain disease · 2025Article
- Ayahuasca Pretreatment Prevents Sepsis-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior, Neuroinflammation, and Oxidative Stress, and Increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Towards culturally inclusive healthcare in Peru: Mapping epistemic concepts in contemporary Indigenous Amazonian medicine-Traditional healers' perspectives.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Ayahuasca: pharmacology, safety, and therapeutic effects.CNS spectrums · 2024Review
- Ayahuasca drinking using a two-bottle choice procedure in male mice.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Neurobiological research on N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and its potentiation by monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition: from ayahuasca to synthetic combinations of DMT and MAO inhibitors.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Review
- Drug-induced psychosis following use of Ayahuasca: a presentation to forensic psychiatric services.BMJ case reports · 2024Article
- Long-term benefits to psychological health and well-being after ceremonial use of Ayahuasca in Middle Eastern and North African immigrants and refugees.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Why N,N-dimethyltryptamine matters: unique features and therapeutic potential beyond classical psychedelics.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine's Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Overcoming the clinical challenges of traditional ayahuasca: a first-in-human trial exploring novel routes of administration of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and harmine.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Molecular Pathways of the Therapeutic Effects of Ayahuasca, a Botanical Psychedelic and Potential Rapid-Acting Antidepressant.Biomolecules · 2022Review
- Psychedelics in the treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression.International journal of bipolar disorders · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo conduct a systematic literature review of animal and human studies reporting anxiolytic or antidepressive effects of ayahuasca or some of its isolated alkaloids (dimethyltryptamine, harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline).
methodsPapers published until 3 April 2015 were retrieved from the PubMed, LILACS and SciELO databases following a comprehensive search strategy and using a predetermined set of criteria for article selection.
resultsFive hundred and fourteen studies were identified, of which 21 met the established criteria. Studies in animals have shown anxiolytic and antidepressive effects of ayahuasca, harmine, and harmaline, and experimental studies in humans and mental health assessments of experienced ayahuasca consumers also suggest that ayahuasca is associated with reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. A pilot study reported rapid antidepressive effects of a single ayahuasca dose in six patients with recurrent depression.
conclusionConsidering the need for new drugs that produce fewer adverse effects and are more effective in reducing anxiety and depression symptomatology, the described effects of ayahuasca and its alkaloids should be further investigated.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.