Ayahuasca preparations and serotonin reuptake inhibitors: A potential combination for severe adverse interactions

The Amazonian psychoactive plant beverage ayahuasca has attracted increasin g interest in recent years. Little attention has been given, however, to po tentially dangerous interactions with other drugs. In particular, the inter action between the potent monoamine oxidase-inhibiting harmala alkaloids in ayahuasca and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of a ntidepressants may induce a serotonin syndrome with potentially grave outco me. Caution is advised when combining ayahuasca with certain pharmaceutical drugs.