Amazonian shamans, or healers, have been using Ayahuasca for millennia, as a medicine and as a plant which “opens a portal to the spirit world.”
A brew made with the leaves and the vine of the plant is a vision-inducing agent, and as scientists are now discovering, a powerful anti depressant.
In this context, a study was conducted in the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. A group of six individuals, each of whom had not responded positively to at least one allopathic anti depressant, were administered a dose of Ayahuasca brew. They all felt positive effects in just 2-3 hours each, with effects lasting over then next three weeks.
This was considered most promising, as normal anti depressants take weeks to start taking effect, and require regular dosage; otherwise patients can experience re-lapse easily.
