Our team of Brazilian scientists has conducted the first randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of ayahuasca – a psychedelic drink made of Amazonian plants.
The results, recently published in the journal Psychological Medicine, suggest that ayahuasca can work for hard-to-treat depression.
People in the Amazonian region of Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador have for centuries used ayahuasca for therapeutic and spiritual purposes.
Starting in the 1930s, Brazilian religions were founded around the use of ayahuasca as a sacrament.
Our findings support a 2015 Brazilian clinical trial on the potential of ayahuasca as an antidepressant.
The placebo effect for depression is so strong that some scientists have questioned whether antidepressants really work.
Participants who took ayahuasca scored significantly higher on that questionnaire than those who drank a placebo. »