Psychotria viridis is a shrub from the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It has many local names, including Chacruna and Chacrona (from Quechua chaqruy, "to mix").
It contains the hallucinogenic - or entheogenic - indole alkaloid DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) 0.1-0.61% dried mass. It is known primarily as a principle admixture to the ayahuasca brew used in South and Central America. It has many local names, including Chacruna and Chacrona (from Quechua chaqruy, "to mix"). It is legal in Brazil where native tribes use it religiously.
Vegetalistas, healers in the Amazon regions of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, recognize different sub-varieties of Psychotria viridis, based on the location of glands on the back of the leaves. The Brazilian ayhuasca church, Santo Daime, holds that Banisteriopsis caapi, the primary component of ayahuasca, provides "force" to the tea, whereas Psychotria viridis, or chacruna, provides "light".
This may not be far from the truth as the recognized mechanism of action is the combination of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) which allows ayahuasca to be effective in oral doses (unlike smoking DMT crystals which requires no conditioning partner drug). For more information on psychotria viridis basics, or if you want to buy psychotria viridis leaf, check out p-viridis.com.
Vegetalistas, healers in the Amazon regions of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, recognize different sub-varieties of Psychotria viridis, based on the location of glands on the back of the leaves. The Brazilian ayhuasca church, Santo Daime, holds that Banisteriopsis caapi, the primary component of ayahuasca, provides "force" to the tea, whereas Psychotria viridis, or chacruna, provides "light".
