For a long time, a dogma has persisted that no new neurons are born in the brains of adults. Since the late 1990’s, this dated paradigm has been challenged by experimental evidence. The birth of new neurons, known as neurogenesis, occurs in two brain areas: around the ventricles and in a region of the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays a key role in important cognitive tasks such as learning and memory. Its function declines with the normal aging process, but does so much more dramatically in the presence of certain devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
http://beckleyfoundation...-pau-research-programme/

http://beckleyfoundation...-pau-research-programme/

In the study participated the following researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC): Jose Morales-García, María Isabel Rodriguez-Franco, Ana Pérez-Castillo and Mario de la Fuente Revenga. They found that harmine and tetrahydroharmine, the alkaloids present in highest amounts in ayahuasca, stimulate the growth and maturation of neurons and promote their birth from the stem cells.

So I found this study that was done on Syrian Rue and I am curious as to what all of you think about the benefits of using the Harmala alkaloids. I had a bit of a hard time with the technical language of the document (as I'm not a scientist/doctor or well versed in their technical language) and I was wondering if someone may be able to make better sense of it.

Heres the link: Syrian Rue Study

Thank you all for your time and I hope this may be informative to those ignorant on this matter.

Thank You for the Replies!
As far as your question to me Gnosis, I am not to educated in the technical language of the write up I stumbled onto. I guess a good example of my delima on this would be this: The technical term for a pain killer is a analgesic but since I have not studied these terms (or memorized them and what their specific effects are based on their names) I don't know what their effects are necessarily. I can look them up tho. I was personally curious as to Harmalas effects on say Cancerous cells though.

And Final Incarnate I have personally seen a similar effect to what you describe. In my experience Harmala Alkaloids can be used in conjunction with another substance in order to increase its effects significantly. In my experience it has a great "Synergy" with Cannabis when the two are used together. I can actually have a very mild trip from a light does of Harmalas after smoking.

The following is a detailed functional analysis:
“DMT binds to the sigma-1 receptor, which provides new opportunities for understanding how ayahuasca may produce its marked effects on the body and mind and what might be the role of endogenous DMT and how ayahuasca may have effects on cancer.
The human sigma-1 receptor has been cloned and shows no homology with other mammalian proteins. Single-photon emission tomography (SPET) analysis in humans revealed that these receptors are present in organs such as the lung and liver and most concentrated in the brain. Sigma-1 receptor activity has been implicated in a variety of diseases, including cancer, depression, and anxiety. Sigma-1 receptors are found in high densities in many human cancer cell lines, including lung, prostate, colon, ovaries, breast, and brain; thus, sigma ligands are regarded as potential novel antineoplastic tools.”

“DMT binds sigma-1 receptors with moderate affinity (KD = 14.75 µM, approximately half the affinity for 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors) and, at high concentrations, is also capable of inhibiting voltage-gated sodium channels. Thus, DMT may exert two types of effects through sigma-1 receptors: at low concentrations, it regulates calcium flow from the ER to the mitochondria, whereas at higher concentrations, it exerts diverse effects at the plasma membrane region. The effect on calcium influx into the mitochondria may be extremely important for cancer treatment given that an energetic imbalance between excessive cytosolic aerobic glycolysis and reduced mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (the Warburg effect) was recently suggested as the seventh hallmark of cancer. This metabolic profile of cancer cells is accompanied by a hyperpolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential that may be reduced by the calcium influx triggered by DMT binding to the sigma-1 receptor at the MAM. This effect may facilitate the electrochemical processes at the electron transport chain inside the mitochondria, thus increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and leading these cells to apoptotic pathways. When high DMT concentrations induce sigma-1 receptor translocation to the plasma membrane, many cellular effects would occur due to the receptor’s interaction with different ion channels. At high concentrations of DMT, a calcium influx and mitochondrial membrane depolarization might be enough to also activate the permeability transition pore (PTP), inducing mitochondria swelling, rupture, and apoptosis.

For all these effects to help explain the available case reports of ayahuasca on cancer treatment, DMT’s physiological degradation by enteric monoamine oxidase (primarily MAO-A) after oral consumption should be inhibited, thus allowing the DMT to pass into circulation. The pharmacological activity of β-carbolines (primarily harmine) in ayahuasca inhibits MAO, with a high affinity for MAO-A. Therefore, the specific effects of ayahuasca on the different types of cancer could also vary depending on the predominant MAO subtype, given that the ratio of MAO-A to MAO-B varies, for example, from 1:3 in the brain to 4:1 in the intestine, and the placenta has only MAO-A and blood platelets have only MAO-B. Another consequence of inhibiting MAO in different tissues is interference with apoptotic pathways, thus strengthening the synergistic action of β-carbolines and DMT.

In addition to allowing DMT to exert its effects on cancer tissues and cells, β-carbolines may have other important roles. It was recently demonstrated that harmine activates pathways of apoptosis in B16F-10 melanoma cells; it inhibits tumor-specific neo-vessel formation, both in vitro and in vivo in mice, through a series of mechanisms involving decreased serum levels of pro-angiogenic factors and an increase in antitumor factors and displays an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation against human carcinoma cells. Harmine and harmaline were also shown to reduce cell proliferation in the human leukemia cell line HL60. Harmine was also shown to induce apoptosis in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. Harmine may also be beneficial in cancer treatment due to its inhibitory effect on the DYRK1A kinase. This kinase is implicated in the resistance of many cancerous tissues to pro-apoptotic stimuli and the enhancement of proliferation, migration, and reduced cell death. Another pharmacological effect of harmine that may be important in brain cancer is its role on the EAAT2 glial glutamate reuptake transporter. Harmine was identified as one the most efficient molecules to upregulate this transporter in glial cells among a library of 1040 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved substances. This fact may be of importance because most brain tumors are of glial origin and involve excessive glutamate release, causing neurotoxicity. Also important for gliomas may be the binding of harmine to imidazoline I2 receptors. These receptors are highly expressed in gliomas, and their density increases with malignancy in human cells. However, their physiological role in these tissues remains unclear.

A recent study has shown that DMT inhibits the indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase enzyme. This enzyme, when upregulated, is associated with malignant cells escaping immune surveillance, and thus DMT may help increase immune functions against malignant cells.”

In summary, it is hypothesized that the combined actions of β-carbolines and DMT present in ayahuasca may diminish tumor blood supply, activate apoptotic pathways, diminish cell proliferation, and change the energetic metabolic imbalance of cancer cells, which is known as the Warburg effect. Therefore, ayahuasca may act on cancer hallmarks such as angiogenesis, apoptosis, and cell metabolism.”
http://www.munaymedicine.com/pages/ayahuasca.aspx

https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=577631143d7f4b88fa224982&assetKey=AS%3A378964578193415%401467363604318
PDF for Beckley foundation harmala/ayahuasca neurogenesis research.

This is all amazing research confirming benefits of harmala alkaloids and ayahuasca with specific focus on the generation of new neurons in the brain.





Attachments:
The first image is the control, when only salty water (saline) added to the cell cultures. The nuclei of the stem cells can be seen in blue.These stem cells have been treated with saline for several days and only a few have developed into young neurons (the few green sports in the image).

The second image shows the results after several days of treatment with harmine: blue is still present because it’s a marker of cell nuclei, and all cells have nuclei (stem cells and neurons). The green spots are the young neurons marked using Tuj1 staining (this staining is specific for “neuron-specific class III beta-tubulin) present in recently created neurons. The red spots show more mature neurons. The staining marks the “microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2). Its presence increases during neuron development.

The third image shows the results obtained after several days of treatment with tetrahydroharmine. The meaning of the colors is the same.
-eg

Thanks for the links but once again I am going to have to ask you what it would be like to transfer that in to a real world scenario. IE, would this neurogenesis effect intelligence noticeable? Or is it more in the 0.000342% increase range? P.s. u didn't respond to my other post either... something about how psilocybin mitigates fear learning in mice, remember?

The scientific data is useless to me unless I can converse with someone about how that might apply to myself or other human beings. Fair point, don't u think?

Apart from neurogenesis "P. harmala extract is toxic at high-doses[7,77,81,82] and can cause paralysis, liver degeneration, spongiform changes in the central nervous system,[83] euphoria, convulsions, digestive problems (nausea, vomiting), hypothermia and bradycardia"

We are currently conducting additional experiments to discern the magnitude of the observed effects, as well as undertaking studies on live animals.
http://beckleyfoundation...-pau-research-programme/