Matteo Politi

Musico-healing practices play a key role in indigenous and mestizo traditional medicine in the Amazon. The curative songs or icaros used by the curanderos (traditional healers) of the Peruvian Upper Amazon are administered alongside the psychoactive plant decoction ayahuasca in ritual settings. This Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis examines m...

Objective: Ayahuasca, an entheogen from the Amazon rainforest, has garnered growing interest to treat substance dependence. To date, there is little research concerning the act of Ayahuasca-related purging (mainly vomiting), which is considered to be central to healing during Ayahuasca rituals. This study explored practitioner perspectives on purg...

The use of psychedelic substances is increasingly associated with nature-relatedness. We explore whether entheogenic uses of ayahuasca in settings co-produced between Indigenous and Western knowledges may also foster relationality and sustainability transformations across ontology, praxis, and epistemology. A survey with 74 English-speaking individ...

i>Aristolochia didyma (Yawar Panga) and other Aristolochia species are used as traditional herbal remedies with potent emetic properties. Scientific data for such Yawar Panga species, however, are scarce in the literature. The aim of this study was to describe the use of Yawar Panga within the context of the therapeutic community Takiwasi, in which...

Western medicine and psychotherapy have historically overlooked the potential of engaging the sense of smell for therapeutic purposes. However, in other medical traditions, such as that of the Peruvian Amazon, specific therapeutic interventions based on the use of aromatic plants are commonly performed in conjunction with other healing modalities....

Research on psychedelic‐assisted psychotherapy has shown that music affects therapeutic outcomes at a fundamental level. The development of such therapies calls for research on the use of music with consciousness‐altering substances, especially in contexts informed by their traditional use. Informed by ethnographic reports, our project answers this...

In the Peruvian Amazon, tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) is considered a master plant and is the main curing tool of local healers. Among its several medicinal uses, we find drinking tobacco juice with the purpose of purging in order to heal on a physical, mental, and spiritual level. This specific practice is part of the addiction treatment protocol de...

The mixture of water extracts from Tanacetum parthenium and Salix alba was studied in an ex vivo assessment of neurotoxicity constituted by isolated mouse cortex specimens challenged with K + 60 mM Krebs-Ringer buffer (neurotoxicity stimulus). The effects of the mixture on lactate dehy-drogenase (LDH), nitrite and serotonin levels were investigated...

The present work evaluates the aromatic waters of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. syn. Rosmarinus officinalis L.), sage (Salvia officinalis L.), and cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) obtained as innovative commercial products of a hydrodistillation process. All extracts were exhaustively analysed by GC-MS, 1H-NMR, and LC-MS in order to evaluat...

The herbal preparation ayahuasca has been an important part of ritual and healing practices, deployed to access invisible worlds in several indigenous groups in the Amazon basin and among mestizo populations of South America. The preparation is usually known to be composed of two main plants, Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis, which produ...

The medicinal plant diet is a healing process used in traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM), and it is poorly described within the scientific literature. This work analyzes the experience of seven participants in this therapy performed at the Takiwasi Center in Peru. Semistructured interviews were performed before and after treatment, documenting pa...

Background: Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic emerged in December 2019, it has triggered 4.4 million deaths and strained health systems across the world. Yet more than a year and a half since the pandemic emerged, therapeutic drugs to treat COVID-19 disease are limited. Objective To investigate the therapeutic potential of a nicotinic Cholinergic Agoni...

Background: Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic emerged in December 2019, it has triggered 4.4 million deaths and strained health systems across the world. Yet more than a year and a half since the pandemic emerged, therapeutic drugs to treat COVID-19 disease are limited. Objective To investigate the therapeutic potential of a nicotinic Cholinergic Agoni...

This article reports on results of the administration of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to 500 high school students (aged 16–19) in the Peruvian Amazon. Results indicate 68.6% of the sample reported consumption of alcohol in the past three months. One out of four students reported high risk involvement with a...

Objective To establish the therapeutic action of a nicotinic cholinergic agonist agent composition in synergy with other non-cholinergic molecules (CA) in the COVID-19 symptoms in a group of human patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 vs. control group. Methods Randomized open-label trial pilot study where 80 patients were randomly assigned to receive...

Objective To establish the therapeutic action of a nicotinic cholinergic agonist agent (CA) composition in the symptoms in a group of human patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 vs. control group. Methods Basic Odds Ratio study (95% confidence interval) in 20 patients for intervention group and 15 patients for the control group. The evaluation in the g...

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación (TIC) tienen impacto creciente en el sector salud orientado a la optimización de procesos y su aplicación abarca campos como la psicoterapia y la terapia ocupacional. El objetivo fue describir el sistema de información Plus, una iniciativa de la comunidad terapéutica Takiwasi que nace de la necesidad de...

Industrial hemp is a multiuse crop whose phytocomplex includes terpenophenolics and flavonoids. In the present study, the phenolic and terpenophenolic compounds were assayed in the water extract of the hemp variety Futura 75. Protective effects were also investigated in human fibroblast and keratinocytes and isolate mouse skin specimens, which were...

El Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CDB) de 1992 fue el primer tratado internacional enfocado en el tema de la propiedad de los recursos genéticos. Sus tres objetivos son: la conservación de la diversidad biológica; el uso sostenible de sus componentes; la distribución justa y equitativa de los beneficios derivados dela utilización de los re...

Prostatitis is an inflammatory condition that is related to multiple infectious agents, including bacteria and fungi. Traditional herbal extracts proved efficacious in controlling clinical symptoms associated with prostatitis. In this context, the aim of the present study was to explore the efficacy of extracts from Solidago virga-aurea, Ononis spi...

Takiwasi is a therapeutic community for the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) that combines traditional Amazonian medicine (TAM) with modern psychotherapy. One of the plant medicines from TAM used in this protocol is purgahuasca. It is a decoction of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi alone, whose use is traditional among the Awajún and other...

Background Global challenges related to access and benefit sharing (ABS) of biological resources have become a key concern in the area of research on herbal medicines, ethnopharmacology, drug discovery, and the development of other high value products for which Intellectual Property protection can be secured. While the Convention on Biological Dive...

Objective. This article aims to give an overview on the role of spirituality, faith and mystical experiences in the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) by presenting the case of the therapeutic community Takiwasi, where psychoactive plants are used, and by considering other Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies that are der...

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) is traditionally cultivated as a valuable source of fibers and nutrients. Multiple studies also demonstrated antimicrobial, anti-proliferative, phytotoxic and insecticide effects of the essential oil from hemp female inflorescences. On the other side, only a few studies explored the potential pharmacological applic...

: The present work evaluates for the first time two Lavandin (Lavandula × intermedia Emeric ex Loisel.) aromatic waters obtained from different plant organs, the flowers and the stems. Both extracts were analysed by GC-MS, which indicates semi-quantitative differences between the major metabolites including linalool, 1,8-cineole, camphor, linalyl a...

Ethnopharmacological relevance The Peruvian Amazon holds more than 1000 plant species with commercial potential and the national sales of natural products derived from medicinal and aromatic plants have exceeded $ 400 million per year. Research and development activities carried out on the genetic and biochemical composition of Peruvian flora have...

The field of medical ethnobotany has historically contributed to the advancement of modern pharmaceutical and biomedical science through bringing discoveries from the field into the laboratory. In ethnopharmacology, a sub-field of ethnobotany, there is a concerning lack of ethnographic methods reported in the literature. The ethnographic approach i...

The association between spirituality and medicine is unfolding as a research theme that may have increasing practical implications in healthcare systems. Both spiritual and scientific dimensions are present within the treatment protocol for addiction applied at the Takiwasi Center, a pioneer therapeutic community that combines western approaches, i...

This article presents data related to diet-retreat users at Centro Takiwasi, a therapeutic community that specializes in addiction rehabilitation based on a protocol that combines western psychotherapy with traditional Amazonian medicine. Central to Amazonian shamanism in Peru is the dieta (diet-retreat), a practice of drinking plant preparations i...

Introduction It is estimated that the Peruvian Amazon holds more than 1000 plant species with commercial potential and the national sales of natural products derived from medicinal and aromatic plants have exceeded $ 400 million per year. BioTrade companies such as the Takiwasi Laboratory have focused mainly on the collection, processing and market...

Purpose Substance abuse is a major public health concern, with over millions of people suffering from it worldwide. Although there is an abundance of treatment options, many of these rehabilitative trajectories are subject to “drop-out”. In addition, “drop-out” is a significant risk factor for relapse. There is an urgent demand for effective treatm...

La Dieta è una delle pratiche terapeutiche più importanti della Medicina Tradizionale Amazzonica (MTA). Si tratta di un processo che si sviluppa in isolamento e permette alla persona che vi si sottomette di guarire da una malattia o disturbo, ma anche di ricevere insegnamenti,a partire dall'assunzione di determinate piante medicinali conosciute anc...

La médecine traditionnelle amazonienne tout comme la naturopathie possède de grandes ressources et une grande variété de techniques de soins. Les diètes sont l’une des techniques largement utilisées en Haute-Amazonie péruvienne. Il s’agit pour le guérisseur de mettre le patient en isolement en pleine forêt avec un régime alimentaire et des normes p...

El Centro Takiwasi es una comunidad terapéutica única en su género por la integración de psicoterapia y medicina moderna con el uso de prácticas derivadas de la Medicina Tradicional Amazónica (MTA). El eje central e innovador es el uso terapéutico de plantas medicinales con efectos psicosomáticos sobre el individuo, en sesiones rituales o en un con...

Phlomis fruticosa L. and P. herba‐venti are species belonging to the Lamiaceae family, which have been traditionally used to prepare tonic and digestive drinks. Multiple studies also demonstrated the inhibitory effects of P. fruticosa extracts and essential oil against oxidative/proinflammatory pathways and bacterial strains deeply involved in ulce...

Objective. This article aims to offer a vision of the centers at a global level that use derivatives of plants or animals for the treatment of substance use disorders, and to offer a reflection on the concept of drugs as medicinal or toxicant agents depending on the context of use, culture and policy. Methodology. Some practices coming from Africa,...

Born as a center for the treatment of addiction and mental health and for the research on traditional Amazonian medicine, the Takiwasi Center, located in the Peruvian high-Amazon, over more than 25 years of existence has developed a series of parallel activities focused on the conservation of the environment and the recovery and promotion of Amazon...

Objetivo. Describir el perfil de usuarios, pacientes atendidos y tratamientos brindados en el Centro Takiwasi por medio del sistema de información PPLUS, entre los años 2013-2018. Materiales y métodos. Estudio descriptivo. De acuerdo con los objetivos bajo los cuales el sistema PPLUS ha sido concebido, se recolectó información sobre la cantidad de...

Objective. This article aims to give an overview of the major American centers using traditional herbal medicine or their derivatives in the treatment of substance dependence. Methodology. For the purpose of this article we have considered a small number of plants hailing from South, Central and North America. The research has been based on scienti...

Objective. This article aims to give an overview of the major American centers using traditional herbal medicine or their derivatives in the treatment of substance dependence. Methodology. For the purpose of this article we have considered a small number of plants hailing from South, Central and North America. The research has been based on scienti...

The Center for Drug Addiction Treatment and Research on Traditional Medicines – Takiwasi, is a 25 years’ Non-Governmental-Organization (NGO) specialized in the treatment of drug addiction and mental health disorders based on modern psychotherapy and biomedical approach, as well as the use of herbal Traditional Amazonian Medicine (TAM). Part of this...

The medicinal use of different chemovars and extracts of Cannabis sativa L. requires standardization beyond ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with complementing methods. We investigated the suitability of (1)H NMR key signals for distinction of four chemotypes measured in deuterated dimethylsulfoxide together with two new validated HPLC/DAD methods use...

Scientific data on traditional pharmaceutical recipes are largely missing in the literature, despite the relevance of this information within the process of herbal medicine preparation; the chemistry of the finished product in fact, can be dramatically affected by the recipes adopted. A fieldwork on the topic of traditional pharmaceutical recipes w...

Cortical neurons grown on multielectrode array (MEA) chips have been shown to be a valuable alternative method to study electrophysiological properties of the central nervous system neurons and to perform functional toxicological screening. Here we studied the effects of binary mixtures on neuronal networks cultured on MEAs. We have considered comp...

Tinctures are widely used liquid pharmaceutical preparations traditionally obtained by maceration of one or more medicinal plants in ethanol-water solutions. Such a process results in the extraction of virtually hundreds of structurally diverse compounds with different polarities. Owing to the large chemical diversity of the constituents present in...

Total phenol content determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and total antioxidant capacity measured by the ABTŠ•+ method were applied for the first time to analyze the aqueous extract prepared from the dried aerial parts of Mentha cervina, a Portuguese mint species traditionally used as a culinary herb in river fish-based dishes and currently comm...

Cannabis sativa L. is the source for a whole series of chemically diverse bioactive compounds that are currently under intensive pharmaceutical investigation. In this work, hot and cold water extracts as well as ethanol/water mixtures (tinctures) of cannabis were compared in order to better understand how these extracts differ in their overall comp...

The infusion of the semi-fresh flowering aerial parts of Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop. (Brassicaceae), commonly known as hierba del canto in Spanish, is a popular remedy for the treatment of sore throats, coughs, and hoarseness, but little is known about its chemistry and pharmacology. HPLC-UV/PDA analyses of the dichloromethane and methanol ext...

Cholera Toxin (CT) recognizes the cell membrane through specific interactions with ganglioside GM1. Recent structural elucidation of the CT/GM1 complex has allowed the rational design of artificial receptors for the toxin, which could function as anti-cholera drugs. The efforts towards the rational design of Cholera Toxin inhibitors will be present...

The analytical study of two hot-water extracts from the mushrooms Inonotus hispidus (Bull.) P. Karst and Sparassis crispa Wulf.:Fr was performed by NMR, HPLC-PAD-MS and GC-MS. The simultaneous use of different analytical techniques highlighted the diverse classes of natural products contained in these extracts. This study describes an attempt to ad...

A series of phenylphenalenone type compounds, known to play a role as phytoalexins in plants of the Musaceae family, have been identified for the first time in the leaf fibers of abaca (Musa textilis). Among the phenylphenalenone type compounds identified, the structure of a novel compound, (1R)-2,3-dihydro-4,9-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-1-phenylphenalene...

Binding between a component of the crude hot water extract obtained from Allium sativum crushed bulbs (ASw) and cholera toxin B pentamer (CTB) was detected by STD NMR experiments. Bioassay-oriented fractionation allowed the partial identification of a high molecular weight polysaccharide mainly composed of galactose as the bioactive complex against...

DOSY analysis has been performed on different mushroom extracts and fractions with the aim to describe a general method for the study of high molecular weight polysaccharides. These NMR experiments can be exploited to monitor the fractionation pathways performed on crude extracts in order to isolate polysaccharides. DOSY can also rapidly verify the...

The topical anti-inflammatory activity of the ethanol and aqueous extracts from the aerial parts of Lavandula multifida L. (Lamiaceae), used in the Moroccan traditional medicine, was investigated by inhibition of the Croton oil-induced ear edema in mice. The biological assay revealed a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity for the ethanol extra...

Direct NMR screening of natural products obtained from hot water extracts of medicinal species is accomplished through STD and tr-NOESY experiments on a crude mixture and a given protein receptor. It is shown, with use of a mushroom extract as model case, that this protocol may provide a fast and simple method, particularly useful in natural produc...

In order to evaluate the possible use of the leaves instead of the roots of Vismia guineensis as a new source for the traditional use of this drug, the chemical composition of both organs were compared by HPLC-UV/PAD and HPLC-MS analyses. The leaves are analysed here for the first time. The results show the presence of five major classes of seconda...

A quantitative study of the phenolic constituents of wild and cultivated leaves of Sclerocarya birrea(Anacardiaceae) was carried out by HPLC-UV/PDA and LC-MS. Phytochemical analysis of the methanol extract of wild plants led to the isolation of one new flavonol glycoside, quercetin 3-O-alpha-l-(5' '-galloyl)-arabinofuranoside (1), and eight known p...

Six diterpenes, including two new natural products, were isolated from the seeds of Cephalotaxus harringtonia. The new metabolites were characterised as 8 beta-hydroxy-9(11),13-abietadien-12-one and 5,6-didehydroferruginol, while the known compounds were identified as ferruginol, sugiol, 6,12-dihydroxyabieta-5,8,11,13-tetraen-7-one, and abieta-8,11...

Four new diterpenes (1-4) have been isolated from the aerial parts of Lavandula multifida, together with the known compound glutinosin (5). The structures of these compounds were identified on the basis of extensive NMR studies as 15,16-dihydroxy-7,11-dioxopimar-8(9)-ene (1), 15S,16-dihyroxy-7-oxopimar-8(9)-ene (2), 15,16,17-trihydroxy-7-oxopimar-8...

In our screening program for antioxidants with DPPH radical scavenging activity we tested several flavonoids isolated from the leaves of Licania licaniaeflora (Chrysobalanaceae family) and identified by spectroscopic evidence, particularly with 1H and 13C NMR. All the isolated compounds exhibited DPPH radical scavenging activity: quercetin derivati...

A new cyclohexenone (1) and a new caffeoyl ester derivative (2), together with the known compounds (-)-isolariciresinol 3-alpha-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), (+)-1-hydroxypinoresinol 1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4), isoacteoside (5), luteolin 4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6), and indole-3-carboxylic acid (7), were isolated from the leaves of Bauhinia...

A new cyclohexenone (1) and a new caffeoyl ester derivative (2), together with the known compounds (-)-isolariciresinol 3-alpha -O-beta -D-glucopyranoside (3), (+)-1-hydroxypinoresinol 1-O-beta -D-glucopyranoside (4), isoacteoside (5), luteolin 4'-O-beta -D-glucopyranoside (6), and indole-3-carboxylic acid (7), were isolated from the leaves of Bauh...