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Bufotenine)
Bufotenin, also spelled bufotenine, is also known under the names 5-hydroxy-DMT (5-OH-DMT) or dimethyl-serotonin and is a tryptamine related to the neurotransmitter serotonin. It is an alkaloid found in many plants; it was originally isolated from the secretions of toads (bufotoxin), most notably Bufo alvarius, from where it derives the name Bufotenin. Bufotenin is an hallucinogenic compound.
Toads
Bufotenin's relation to the toad Bufo alvarius (otherwise known as the Colorado River toad, or Sonoran Desert toad) has led to the use of this toads' venom for recreational purposes. The venom has also been declared a sacrament by the Church of the Toad of Light in the US. Although this venom is usually smoked, media attention led to the phenomenon of toad licking. Some severe poisonings were recorded after some toad-lickers mistakenly used Bufo marianus (Common Cane Toad) and other species for this purpose. The venom of B. marianus contains Bufotenin alongside powerful heart steroids, the use of which can lead to heart attacks and death.
Magic Beans
Bufotenin is also the primary constituent of Cebil and Vilca snuffs, made from beans of the Anadenanthera colubrina tree, and used by some tribes of the Amazon. These snuffs are closely related to Yopo and Cohoba snuffs, made from the beans of Anadenanthera peregrina, which include Dimethyltryptamine as their primary active constituent. Cohoba was also used by the tribe who greeted Columbus to the New World, the Taino of Cuba and Hispaniola. The use of Cohoba snuffs has been documented in the archaeological record for thousands of years, and it has the longest recorded continuous use of any psychoactive plant in the world.
References
"Pharmanopo-psychonautics: human intranasal, sublingual, intrarectal, pulmonary and oral pharmacology of bufotenine" by J. Ott in J. Psychoactive Drugs 33(3):273-281 (2001)
External links