Banisteriopsis caapi

:"This entry focuses on the caapi vine itself; for information on entheogenic use, see Ayahuasca."Taxobox
name = Ayahuasca

---

image_width = 300px
image_caption = Young Ayahuasca
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Malpighiales
familia = Malpighiaceae
genus = "Banisteriopsis"
species = "B. caapi"
binomial = "Banisteriopsis caapi"
binomial_authority = (Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V.Morton [cite web
url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?400033
title=Banisteriopsis caapi information from NPGS/GRIN
publisher=www.ars-grin.gov
accessdate=2008-05-04
last=
first=]

"Banisteriopsis caapi", also known as Ayahuasca, Caapi or Yage, is a South American jungle vine of the family Malpighiaceae. It is used to prepare Ayahuasca, a decoction that has a long history of entheogenic uses as a medicine and "plant teacher" among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Rainforest. It contains the beta-carboline harmala alkaloids and MAOIs harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine. The MAOIs in "B. caapi" allow the primary psychoactive compound, DMT (which is introduced from the other primary ingredient in Ayahausca, the "Psychotria viridis" plant), to be orally active. "The stems contain 0.11-0.83% beta-carbolines, of which 40-96% is harmine." [ [http://www.amazing-nature.com/-i-32.html www.amazingnature.com] ] In South America, most caapi is cultivated by the shamans who use it, but most caapi available to buy on internet is wild Peruvian vines taken from the forest. [ [http://www.southamericanspecials.com www.southamericanspecials.com] ]

According to "The CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names" by Umberto Quattrocchi, the naming of "B. caapi" was actually dedicated to John Banister, a seventeenth-century English clergyman and scientist. An earlier name for the genus "Banisteriopsis" was "Banisteria", and the plant is sometimes referred to as "Banisteria caapi" in everyday usage.

The name Ayahuasca means "vine of the soul", and the shamans of the indigenous Western Amazonian tribes use the plant in religious and healing ceremonies. In addition to its hallucinogenic properties, caapi is used for its healing properties as a purgative, effectively cleansing the body of parasites and helping the digestive tract.

Types of vine

There are two scientifically accepted varieties:
*"Banisteriopsis caapi" var. "caupuri" with knotty stems
*"Banisteriopsis caapi" var. "tukunaka" with smooth stems

The caapi vine is categorized by those who use it into several different types, each of which have different potencies, effects, and uses. Different categorizations may be used in different areas, and this list is not meant to be exhaustive or universally applicable.

Peru

In Peru and other places of the Upper Amazon, the different types of Caapi are referred to as different "colors" by the shamans.

*Cielo (sky) or yellow caapiProbably the most commonly used variety, at least among the mestizo curanderos of contemporary Amazonia. It is considered relatively gentle and is the typical vine used for initiation. Often has seven sections when viewed in cross-section.
*Black caapiThere seem to be two varieties of black caapi, which may or may not be the same plant. They are often associated with witchcraft or brujeria, and should only be used by those who are very experienced with the medicine. Often has five sections when viewed in cross-section.

*Thunder or trueno caapiBrings on a particularly intense purge as well as other physical effects which are often very overwhelming.
*Indian caapiPerhaps the only variety of caapi that is not cultivated, but rather harvested from old-growth, unflooded, white sand rainforest. Use was believed to be more prevalent before contact with the west.
*White caapiUsed most often in magic, both in brujeria and combating brujeria.
*Red caapiConsidered very strong and used most often for healing; often, the curandero will take red caapi while their patient is given the yellow variety.
*Rattle caapi or "Ayahuasca cascabel".Often considered the most potent variety of caapi; ayahuasca cascabel has been seen and experienced very little by westerners, if at all.

Ecuador

In the Napo province of Ecuador, the vine is divided into three types. It is said that all are used for the same purposes, though the visions of each differ.
*Ayahuasca de las Mujeres, Women's AyahuascaSo named as it has bumps or protrusions, "like a woman". The effect is more rapid. Gives visions of flowers.
*Ayahuasca de los Hombres, Men's AyahuascaStraighter than the women's Ayahuasca; gives visions of Boas.
*Ayahuasca para Ver Fantasmas, Ayahuasca for seeing spiritsHas "designs" on the bark; gives visions of spirits.

Legal issues

Legality

In the United States, caapi is not specifically regulated. A recent court case involving caapi-containing Ayahuasca (which also contains other plants containing the controlled substance DMT, introduced from the "Psychotria viridis" plant), "Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal", was found in favor of the União do Vegetal, a Brazilian religious sect utilizing the tea in their ceremonies and having around 130 members in the United States.

In Australia, the harmala alkaloids are scheduled substances, including Harmine and harmaline, but the living vine, or other source planys are not in most states. On the State of Queensland as of March 2008 [http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2008/08AC004.pdf] this distinction is now uncertain. In all states the dried herb may or may not be considered a scheduled susbtance, dependent on court rulings.

In Canada, harmala is a schedule III substance, but the vine is not. (Note that Canadian scheduling laws are very different from their United States counterparts).

Caapi, as well as a range of harmala alkaloids, were recently scheduled in France, following a court victory by the Santo Daime religious sect allowing use of the tea due to it not being a chemical extraction and the fact that the plants used were not scheduled. Religious exceptions to narcotics laws are not allowed under French law, effectively making any use or possession of the tea illegal.

For more legal information, see Ayahuasca.

Patent issues

The caapi vine itself has been the subject of a dispute between U.S. entrepreneur Loren Miller and the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). In 1986 Miller obtained a US patent on a variety of "B. caapi". COICA successfully argued that the patent was invalid because Miller's variety was neither new nor distinct, and the patent was overturned in 1999; however, in 2001 the US Patent Office has since reinstated the patent because, at the time it was granted, the law did not allow a third party such as COICA standing to object. "B. caapi" is now being cultivated commercially in Hawaii.

References

ee also

*Ayahuasca
*Psychedelic plants

External links

* [http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=149 "Banisteriopsis caapi" List of Chemicals (Dr. Duke's Databases)]
* [http://www.amazonlink.org/biopiracy/ayahuasca.htm Report on indigenous use of the plant, and the patent dispute]

* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/syrian_rue/syrian_rue_info1.shtml Report on Beta-Carboline Containing Plants]

* [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=2&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=ptxt&S1=caapi&OS=caapi&RS=caapi United States Patent # PP5,751, Miller, June 17, 1986, Banisteriopsis caapi (cv) `Da Vine`]

* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/banisteriopsis/banisteriopsis.shtml Erowid's Vault article on the plant]

* [http://www.ayahuasca-info.com/ A General Introduction to Ayahuasca]

* [http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/ayahuasca_apa/aya_sec2_b_caapi_analysis.shtml Alkaloid Content of "Banisteriopsis caapi"]