Tabernanthe iboga

Description

T. iboga is native to tropical forests, preferring moist soil in partial shade. It bears dark green, narrow leaves and clusters of tubular flowers on an erect and branching stem, with yellow-orange fruits resembling chili pepper.

Normally growing to a height of 2 m, T. iboga may eventually grow into a small tree up to 10 m tall, given the right conditions. The flowers are yellowish-white or pink and followed by a fruit, orange at maturity, that may be either globose or fusiform. Its yellow-fleshed roots contain a number of indole alkaloids, most notably ibogaine, which is found in the highest concentration in the bark of the roots. The root material, bitter in taste, causes a degree of anaesthesia in the mouth as well as systemic numbness of the skin.

Taxonomy

Publication of binomial

Tabernanthe iboga was described by Henri Ernest Baillon and published in Bulletin Mensuel de la Société Linnéenne de Paris 1: 783 in the year 1889.

Etymology

The genus name Tabernanthe is a compound of the Latin taberna, "tavern"/"hut"/"(market) stall" and Greek: ἄνθος (anthos) "flower" – giving a literal meaning of "tavern flower". On the other hand, it may equally well have been intended (by way of a type of botanical shorthand) to mean "having a flower resembling that of plants belonging to the genus Tabernaemontana " (q.v.). If the first conjecture is the correct one, the name could also have been intended to suggest that the plant is cultivated near huts, sold at market stalls or even that – like the beverages sold at a tavern – the plant is intoxicating, all of which alternatives would constitute apt descriptions of an oft-cultivated and popular psychoactive plant. The specific name iboga comes from the Myene name for the plant, which was also borrowed into a number of other regional languages with mild variation.

History

The first (probable...and confused) reference to Iboga is that of Bowdich in chapter 13 of his "Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee..." of 1819The Eroga, a favourite but violent medicine, is no doubt a fungus, for they describe it as growing on a tree called the Ocamboo, when decaying; they burn it first, and take as much as would lay on a shilling. If this is indeed a reference to the drug derived from Tabernanthe iboga (Eroga appears to be a variant form of the names iboga and eboka) it is, of course, grossly in error in its assumption that iboga is not a plant but a fungus. Notable however is the observation of the potency of the drug – effective in small quantities. The description of the plant as growing on a tree is puzzling: Tabernanthe iboga does not usually grow as an epiphyte – if at all.

The ritual use of iboga in Africa was first reported by French and Belgian explorers in the 19th century, beginning with the work of French naval surgeon and explorer of Gabon Griffon du Bellay, who identified it correctly as a shrub belonging to the Apocynaceae – as recorded in a short essay by Charles Eugène Aubry-Lecomte on the plant poisons of West Africa, published in the year 1864.

Chemistry

Indole alkaloids make up about 6% of the root chemical composition of iboga. (in descending order)

• Ibogaine
• Iboxygaine
• Ibogaline
• Alloibogaine
• Catharanthine
• Ibogamine
• Noribogaine
• Voacangine
• Yohimbine
• Hydroxyibogamine

18-Methoxycoronaridine, a synthetic derivative of ibogaine, also occurs naturally in this plant.

Traditional use

The Iboga tree is central to the Bwiti spiritual practices in West-Central Africa, mainly Gabon, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo, where the alkaloid-containing roots or bark are used in various ceremonies, sometimes to create a near-death experience. Iboga is taken in massive doses by initiates of this spiritual practice, and on a more regular basis is eaten in smaller doses in connection with rituals and tribal dances performed at night.

While in lower doses iboga has a stimulant effect and is used to maintain alertness while hunting, in moderate or high doses, iboga induces dream-like states with vivid visions and hallucinations.

Addiction treatment

Anecdotal reports of self-treated opioid addicts indicated a reduced desire to sustain opiate abuse following iboga ingestion.

Ibogaine is classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance in the United States, and is not approved there for addiction treatment (or any other therapeutic use) because of its hallucinogenic and cardiovascular side effects, as well as the absence of safety and efficacy data in human subjects.

Independent ibogaine treatment clinics have emerged in Mexico, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, and New Zealand, all operating in what has been described as a "legal gray area". Covert, illegal neighborhood clinics are also known to exist in the United States, despite active DEA surveillance. Addiction specialists warn that the treatment of drug dependence with ibogaine in non-medical settings, without expert supervision and unaccompanied by appropriate psychosocial care, can be dangerous – and, in approximately one case in 300, potentially fatal.

Adverse effects

Ibogaine may induce nausea, vomiting, tremors, and headaches.

Legal status

Main article: Legal status of ibogaine by country

Iboga is outlawed or restricted in Belgium, Poland, Denmark, Croatia, France, Sweden, and Switzerland. In the United States, ibogaine is classified by the Controlled Substances Act on the list of schedule I drugs, although the plant itself remains unscheduled.

Non-profit organization Föreningen för hollistisk missbruksvård is trying to convince the Swedish government to start up clinical investigations of its anti-addictive properties, loosen up the prohibition law against ibogaine, and allow the creation of treatment facilities in Sweden.

Exportation of iboga from Gabon is illegal since the passage of a 1994 cultural protection law.

Conservation status

While little data is available on the exploitation and existing habitat of the iboga plant, the destructive effects of harvesting and slow growth could have already severely damaged the wild iboga population.

Documentary films about iboga

;Iboga, les hommes du bois sacré (2002) :In this French-language film, Gilbert Kelner documents modern Bwiti practices and Babongo perspectives on iboga. Odisea broadcast a Spanish-dubbed version titled Los Hombres de la Madera Sagrada ("The Men of the Sacred Wood"). ;Ibogaine: Rite of Passage (2004) :Directed by Ben Deloenen. A 34-year-old heroin addict undergoes ibogaine treatment with Dr Martin Polanco at the Ibogaine Association, a clinic in Rosarito Mexico. Deloenen interviews people formerly addicted to heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, who share their perspectives about ibogaine treatment. In Gabon, a Babongo woman receives iboga root for her depressive malaise. Deloenen visually contrasts this Western, clinical use of ibogaine with the Bwiti use of iboga root bark, but emphasizes the Western context. ;"Babongo" (2005) :In this episode (series 1, episode 4) of the English documentary series Tribe, presenter Bruce Parry ingests iboga during his time with the Babongo. BBC 2 aired the episode on January 25, 2005. ;"Dosed" (2019) : This documentary depicts the battle of an opioid addict against her addiction through psychedelic and iboga treatments. ;"Synthetic Ibogaine – Natural Tramadol" (2021) :In this episode (series 3, episode 4) of the American documentary series Hamilton's Pharmacopeia, presenter Hamilton Morris joins an Iboga ceremony in Gabon and later interviews Chris Jenks who shows a method to produce ibogaine from Voacanga africana.

Gallery

File:Iboga.jpg|Plant in fruit: fusiform-fruited form.

References

References

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6. Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). ''CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology''. Vol. V, T–Z. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. p. 493 (p. 3659 in the single-volume edition).
7. Bowdich, Thomas Edward, ''Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, with a statistical account of that kingdom, and geographical notices of other parts of the interior of Africa'' Chap. XIII. — "Sketch of Gaboon, and its Interior", page 422.
8. Furst, Peter T. (ed.) ''Flesh of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Hallucinogens'', pub. George Allen & Unwin 1972 Copyright 1972 by Praeger Publishers, Inc. (Chapters 6 and 7 copyright 1972 by R. Gordon Wasson), {{ISBN. 0 04 573009 1, Chapter 9, "Tabernanthe iboga: Narcotic Ecstasis and the Work of the Ancestors" by James W. Fernandez, Page 237.
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22. {{IMDb title. 1037622. Tribe series 1, episode 4: "Babongo" (2005)
23. {{IMDb title. 14099132. Hamilton's Pharmacopeia series 3, episode 4: "Synethetic Ibogaine-Natural Tramadol" (2021)