(Online Desk)

A new treatment for mental illness and alcohol abuse could be on the cards, a new study reveals, in the form of a psychedelic plant brew called ayahuasca.

From an analysis of more than 96,000 people across the globe, researchers found that individuals who used ayahuasca experienced greater well-being than those who did not, and they were less likely to have experienced problematic alcohol use in the past 12 months than users of other psychedelic drugs.

Study leader Dr. Will Lawn, of University College London in the United Kingdom, and colleagues recently reported their findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant mixture that is believed to originate from Amazonian tribes, who have been using the concoction for hundreds of years and continue to do so to this day.

“The psychedelic state induced by ayahuasca often makes users reflect on personal concerns and memories and produces intense emotions,” note Dr. Lawn and colleagues. “These effects are highly valued by ayahuasca users who characterize the drug experience as similar to a psychotherapeutic intervention.”

Ayahuasca’s main ingredient is a vine called Banisteriopsis caapi, which is believed to produce psychedelic effects.

The concoction also contains dimethyltryptamine, a hallucinogenic compound that is classified as a schedule I drug in the United States, meaning that it is deemed as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

The new study, however, suggests that ayahuasca has the potential to be of medical use, after finding that it could benefit mental health.