Brazilian plant jurema preta effective in fighting depression. "We have patients who have significantly improved"
The Brazilian plant jurema preta, used for centuries in indigenous rituals, is attracting scientific attention as a possible treatment for depression. It contains a powerful DMT, a psychedelic that can provide a quick mood boost. While the research is promising, experts emphasize that it is not a drug for everyone.
Jurema preta – a plant with history and potentialJurema preta, also known as Mimosa tenuiflora , is a plant that grows in northeastern Brazil and is traditionally used in spiritual ceremonies. Its root contains DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a powerful psychedelic that is now attracting the attention of scientists around the world. Although DMT consumption is illegal in Brazil – except for religious and scientific purposes – the plant itself can be purchased freely at street stalls.
How does DMT work for depression?Guaracy Carvajal, a 31-year-old programmer who has struggled with depression for years, extracted DMT himself in 2016.
"You feel like you've solved something in your life," he recalls.
According to him, the psychedelic helped him look at life from a different perspective.
DMT research is being conducted by physicist Draulio Araujo of the Brain Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Under his supervision, fourteen patients inhaled vaporized DMT for six months.
- The response is rapid. They showed significant improvement in depression symptoms the day after treatment, Araujo says.
He emphasizes, however:
- It's not a magic cure. Psychedelic substances are not for everyone.
Neurobiologist Fernanda Palhano-Fontes also participated in the study. As she points out, the effects are mixed:
- We have patients who have experienced significant improvement and others who have not experienced any improvement.
The patients in Araujo's studies also received psychological therapy and sometimes took classic antidepressants.
The DMT present in the preta jurema has long been used in a spiritual context. In Planaltina, on the outskirts of Brasilia, Joyce Souza participated in one of the ceremonies.
- This is not a hallucination. My spiritual channels are becoming more accessible, I can communicate better with myself - says a young participant of the ritual.
During the ceremony, participants dressed in white gather to experience a trance together and make contact with “ancient spirits.” Brazil is now one of the leaders in DMT research. Araujo continues his work, which has already resulted in publications in prestigious journals, including Nature and Psychedelic Medicine. He plans to expand the study to 100 patients.
- Let's assume that in five years we will have ... a clear picture of when this will reach real-world clinical conditions, Araujo says.
Will psychedelics actually find a place in medicine? Time will tell, but scientists already see huge potential in them.
politykazdrowotna
