It's widely advised to stay off SSRIs and plenty of other drugs for at least 14 days after ingesting the brew.
Yet my research indicates Harmine, the main Harmala Alkaloid in Aya, has a half life of less than 3 hours in the blood [1] (and is removed from the brain even faster [2]). Harmaline, which is present in much lower quantities, is not much different. And THH, the third and last alkaloid, is apparently not even a MAOI.
What accounts for this discrepancy? I.e. why the suggestion for 14 days instead of, say, 24 hours which should be enough to reduce the amount of MAOI to (since 24/3 = 8 ) (1/2)^8 = .0039 * the peak amount.
Is it possible the 14 day rule is radically conservative?
[1] See last figure of Callaway, James C., et al. "Quantitation of N, N-dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids in human plasma after oral dosing with ayahuasca." Journal of Analytical Toxicology 20.6 (1996): 492-497. ( available currently at http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/6/492.full.pdf )
[2] https://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/ayahuasca_apa/aya_sec1_rodentmetabolism.shtml
Yet my research indicates Harmine, the main Harmala Alkaloid in Aya, has a half life of less than 3 hours in the blood [1] (and is removed from the brain even faster [2]). Harmaline, which is present in much lower quantities, is not much different. And THH, the third and last alkaloid, is apparently not even a MAOI.
What accounts for this discrepancy? I.e. why the suggestion for 14 days instead of, say, 24 hours which should be enough to reduce the amount of MAOI to (since 24/3 = 8 ) (1/2)^8 = .0039 * the peak amount.
Is it possible the 14 day rule is radically conservative?
[1] See last figure of Callaway, James C., et al. "Quantitation of N, N-dimethyltryptamine and harmala alkaloids in human plasma after oral dosing with ayahuasca." Journal of Analytical Toxicology 20.6 (1996): 492-497. ( available currently at http://jat.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/6/492.full.pdf )
[2] https://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/ayahuasca_apa/aya_sec1_rodentmetabolism.shtml