Anti-inflammatory activity of ayahuasca and its implications for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases

Introduction

Neuroinflammation is described as a central pathogenic process in many neurological and psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, cognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The introduction frames inappropriate or chronic activation of inflammatory processes in the central nervous system (CNS) — involving cells such as microglia, astrocytes and circulating immune mediators — as a contributor to neuronal dysfunction and disease. Because many current pharmacotherapies do not explicitly target neuroinflammatory mechanisms, the authors present the search for agents with anti-neuroinflammatory properties as a key therapeutic priority. Goulart Da Silva and colleagues position ayahuasca, an Amazonian botanical decoction traditionally used in ritual and therapeutic contexts, as a candidate due to accumulating evidence that its active constituents (β-carbolines and tryptamines) produce both psychotropic and anti-inflammatory effects. The paper reports a narrative review of preclinical and clinical findings addressing ayahuasca's anti-inflammatory activity and discusses the implications of those effects for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. The authors state that relevant literature was identified via searches of PubMed and Medline covering studies from recent decades.