How can jaguars consume ayahuasca if it is a beverage containing various ingredients that work together to be potent? What do they actually consume?
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen commonly made by the prolonged decoction of the stems of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, although hundreds of species are used in addition or substitution (See “Preparation” below). P. viridis contains N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a highly psychedelic substance. Although orally inactive, B. caapi is rich with harmala alkaloids, such as harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine (THH), which can act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi). This halts the liver and gastrointestinal metabolism of DMT, allowing it to reach the systemic circulation and the brain, where it activates 5-HT1A/2A/2C receptors in frontal and paralimbic areas.
Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) C. V.
Morton (Malpighiaceae): jaguar
Some Amazonian people credit their uses of Banisteriopsis caapi, also widely known as ‘ayahuasca,’ from watching jaguars [14]. In the Amazonian rainforest, jaguars have been filmed gnawing on
the bitter roots, bark and leaves of this plant, after which they appear dazed, rolling on their backs (www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqGDv0KCJl8). A similar behavior reported in many felid species, including domestic cats, is the frenzy induced by catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) or silver vine (Actinidia polygama [Siebold & Zucc.] Planch. ex Maxim.), which are reported to also have mosquito-and bedbug-repellent activities [54, 55].
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Jaguarsʼ ingestion of ayahuasca can tentatively be classified as Mode 3 self-medication, for many of the same reasons given above, or possibly Mode 4 if evidence were available to show jaguars using the plant were doing so directly for its anthelmintic properties. However, more detailed information is needed to further understand the context of jaguars and other animals consuming plants with hallucinogenic properties by; for example, do they hunt afterwards, or do they ingest plants when parasite levels are high, and does it subsequently lower these levels? The plantʼs properties could promote alertness or simply be a byproduct of Jaguarsʼ hedonic attraction to the plant, with the functional value being its antiparasitic properties. These pharmacological properties lend support to the functional aspects of the plant for jaguars, but more work needs to be done to understand the possible adaptive value of hallucinogen ingestion in animals.
Although the presented evidence is again this same short, very heavily edited video of a jaguar supposedly tripping on the yage vine.
And regarding the effect on or the reasons of the jaguar, we apparently don’t know and how could we, if all the evidence is this one short clip already suggesting what it is doing? Not very satisfying I must say.
Just a guess, but carnivores usually have extra potent stomach acids. Maybe there is a different chemical reaction that activates the ‘DMT’ effect in a different but similar way?
Apparently the jaguars don’t eat the DMT containing shrub P. viridis, but this other ingredient in ayahuasca called yage (Banisteriopsis caapi) that does not contain DMT (see the other response to my last comment).
Harmine, 0.31–8.43%
Harmaline, 0.03–0.83%
Tetrahydroharmine, 0.05–2.94%
These alkaloids of the beta-carboline class act as monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOIs).
How can jaguars consume ayahuasca if it is a beverage containing various ingredients that work together to be potent? What do they actually consume?
Do they consume Psychotria viridis leaves and does the DMT work this way?
https://www.vice.com/en/article/here-is-a-jaguar-tripping-on-yage-the-ayahuasca-vine/
Thanks. That was a bit too anecdotal for me so I actually searched around a bit more. Didn’t find much but at least this one review article:
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1055/a-1586-1665.pdf
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Although the presented evidence is again this same short, very heavily edited video of a jaguar supposedly tripping on the yage vine.
And regarding the effect on or the reasons of the jaguar, we apparently don’t know and how could we, if all the evidence is this one short clip already suggesting what it is doing? Not very satisfying I must say.
ETA: OK, so I dug a bit deeper as seen in my other comment. Apparently this vine isn’t even really psychoactive: “The harmala alkaloids are not especially psychedelic, even at higher dosages, when hypnagogic visions, alongside vomiting and diarrhea, become the main effect.” So, what are the jaguars tripping on then? Maybe they aren’t! Maybe they use it for its purgative effects? This seems all extremely sketchy to me. I don’t think we can definitely say that jaguars are using these vines for their psychoactive effects and saying that they are tripping on ayahuasca is definitely wrong.
Just a guess, but carnivores usually have extra potent stomach acids. Maybe there is a different chemical reaction that activates the ‘DMT’ effect in a different but similar way?
Apparently the jaguars don’t eat the DMT containing shrub P. viridis, but this other ingredient in ayahuasca called yage (Banisteriopsis caapi) that does not contain DMT (see the other response to my last comment).
So, no psychoactive substance, right??
Maybe the jaguars are not actually tripping but are just using it for their metabolism?
MAOIs are also used as antidepressants in humans because they inhibit the metabolism of monoamine compounds such as serotonin and norepinephrine.. Maybe the jaguars are going for this?