Tetrahydroharmine is the third of the ayahuasca vine’s main alkaloids, after harmine and harmaline. A 1984 analysis listed the three in Banisteriopsis caapi and found that the DMT in ayahuasca comes from other plants (McKenna, Towers and Abbott, 198490003-5)).
Its role differs from its siblings’. A 1999 study of 15 volunteers in a ceremonial setting describes harmine and harmaline as reversible MAO-A inhibitors, while tetrahydroharmine weakly blocks the reuptake of serotonin (Callaway et al., 199900168-8)). Its contribution to the brew’s overall effects has not been isolated in people.
Lab and plant studies keep it in view. In cells taken from adult mouse brains, harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine and the metabolite harmol all stimulated stem-cell proliferation and the formation of new neurons (Morales-García et al., 2017), a preliminary finding from cells. A survey of 159 vine samples from Brazil found that tetrahydroharmine content differed between some regions (Santos et al., 2020). Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act lists harmaline and harmalol in Schedule III but does not name tetrahydroharmine (CDSA). This is not legal advice.
Sources
- Callaway et al., 1999, Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- McKenna, Towers and Abbott, 1984, Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- Morales-García et al., 2017, Scientific Reports
- Santos et al., 2020, Plants: β-carbolines in 159 B. caapi samples
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