Drug & supplement interaction

Ayahuasca + Gabapentin

Gabapentin brand names: Neurontin, Gralise.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 13, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Ayahuasca and Gabapentin in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the two are separately associated with some of the same side effects, which would make a new symptom harder to attribute to one or the other.

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Interaction report

Ayahuasca and Gabapentin

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Gabapentin and Ayahuasca in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Ayahuasca safety at a glance

Ayahuasca overall Avoid Ayahuasca is a potent hallucinogen with serious safety risks and uncertain legal status in many areas.
Pregnancy Avoid There is no safety data; avoid during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Likely Unsafe When used orally. In addition to its hallucinogenic effects, animal research shows that chronic administration of higher doses of ayahuasca to pregnant animals... Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center) — the full detail is in the Special populations card below. Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Gabapentin and Ayahuasca? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Gabapentin

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Gabapentin is filed under 4 classifications — including anticonvulsants, cns depressants, oral drugs. Ayahuasca has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — the most serious being cytochrome p450 2d6 (cyp2d6) substrates (moderate), cytochrome p450 3a4 (cyp3a4) substrates (moderate) and dopamine agonists (moderate) — and none of Gabapentin’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Ayahuasca Does Interact With Other Medications

Ayahuasca has 804 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Gabapentin isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 804 No known interaction 2,026 (incl. Gabapentin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Ayahuasca

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Ayahuasca. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

No Interaction Found — But Data Suggests Ayahuasca and Gabapentin May Share Several of the Same Side Effects

This is not an interaction. Neither one changes how your body handles the other, and nothing here says they react together. What our sources do show is that each has separately been linked to the effects below — so taking both can make those effects more likely to turn up, and harder to pin on one or the other if they do. 5 of them are worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Thoughts of self-harm / Low mood Worth acting on Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    “Orally, ayahuasca has been reported to cause agitation, anxiety, fear or worry, delusions, depersonalization, depression, dissociation, and also psychotic incidents, but these are transient and generally not severe. A Global Ayahuasca Survey of over 10,000 participants over a 2-year period found that these types of symptoms were reported by up to 55% of ayahuasca users.”

    Ayahuasca · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in anxiety.

    6 sources cited
    1. 92482. Dos Santos RG, Balthazar FM, Bouso JC, Hallak JE. The current state of research on ayahuasca: A systematic review of human studies assessing psychiatric symptoms, neuropsychological functioning, and neuroimaging. J Psychopharmacol. 2016 Jun 10. pii: 02698 PubMed
    2. 92496. Barbosa PC, Mizumoto S, Bogenschutz MP, Strassman RJ. Health status of ayahuasca users. Drug Test Anal. 2012 Jul-Aug;4(7-8):601-9. PubMed
    3. 101573. Palhano-Fontes F, Barreto D, Onias H, et al. Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Psychol Med. 2019;49(4):655-663. PubMed
    4. 105636. Gómez-Sousa M, Jiménez-Garrido DF, Ona G, et al. Acute Psychological Adverse Reactions in First-Time Ritual Ayahuasca Users: A Prospective Case Series. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2021;41(2):163-171. PubMed
    5. 108616. Rocha JM, Rossi GN, Osorio FL, Hallak JEC, Dos Santos RG. Adverse Effects After Ayahuasca Administration in the Clinical Setting. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2022;42(3):321-324. PubMed
    6. 110784. Breeksema JJ, Kuin BW, Kamphuis J, van den Brink W, Vermetten E, Schoevers RA. Adverse events in clinical treatments with serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA: A mixed-methods systematic review. J Psychopharmacol 2022;36(10):1100-1117. PubMed

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Low sodium Worth acting on Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    “In a case report, a 56-year-old male became unresponsive and developed hypertension and seizure activity potentially related to the use of large amounts of ayahuasca over 3 days as part of a ritual. These symptoms were determined to be related to the development of hypoosmolar hyponatremia as a result of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH).”

    Ayahuasca · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in epilepsy.

    1 source cited
    1. 110807. Bayat Mokhtari M, Bayat Mokhtari M, Rodriguez BZ, Yen TY, Rodriguez ID. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion following ayahuasca use in a satanic ritual: A case report. Cureus 2022;14(4):e24310. PubMed

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Confusion / Seizures Worth acting on Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    “Orally, ayahuasca commonly causes hallucinations and optical illusions that can last for several hours. Other side effects include fainting, headache, slurred speech, convulsions, shakiness and trembling, dizziness, tingling, confusion, and transient disorientation. Poor sleep, poor memory, and exhaustion have been reported 24-48 hours after taking ayahuasca.”

    Ayahuasca · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in cluster headache.

    6 sources cited
    1. 92494. Riba J, Rodríguez-Fornells A, Urbano G, et al. Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Feb;154(1):85-95. PubMed
    2. 92495. Pomilio AB, Vitale AA, Ciprian-Ollivier J, Cetkovich-Bakmas M, Gómez R, Vázquez G. Ayahoasca: an experimental psychosis that mirrors the transmethylation hypothesis of schizophrenia. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999 Apr;65(1):29-51. PubMed
    3. 105636. Gómez-Sousa M, Jiménez-Garrido DF, Ona G, et al. Acute Psychological Adverse Reactions in First-Time Ritual Ayahuasca Users: A Prospective Case Series. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2021;41(2):163-171. PubMed
    4. 110799. Bouso JC, Andión Ó, Sarris JJ, et al. Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey. PLOS Glob Public Health 2022;2(11):e0000438. PubMed
    5. 110807. Bayat Mokhtari M, Bayat Mokhtari M, Rodriguez BZ, Yen TY, Rodriguez ID. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion following ayahuasca use in a satanic ritual: A case report. Cureus 2022;14(4):e24310. PubMed
    6. 92499. dos Santos RG. A critical evaluation of reports associating ayahuasca with life-threatening adverse reactions. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2013 Apr-Jun;45(2):179-88. PubMed

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Mood changes or irritability / Anxiety or restlessness Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    Recorded for Ayahuasca in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Thoughts of self-harm / Low mood above.

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Tremor or shakiness Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    Recorded for Ayahuasca in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Confusion / Seizures above.

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Sweating Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    Recorded for Ayahuasca in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Confusion / Seizures above.

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

  • Trouble sleeping Additional detail

    Ayahuasca

    Recorded for Ayahuasca in the same Natural Medicines adverse-effect record shown under Confusion / Seizures above.

    Gabapentin

    Listed in the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of the FDA label for Gabapentin. Read the label on DailyMed ›

Showing the 10 most notable of 16 shared effects — ranked by how unusual each one is, not just whether both lists mention it.

Reported for Ayahuasca but not commonly for Gabapentin: raised blood pressure, hallucinations, a fast or pounding heartbeat and chest pain.

Effects for Gabapentin come from the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of its FDA label; effects for Ayahuasca come from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, quoted above. Where a percentage is shown, it is the share of 361,481 voluntary FDA FAERS reports for Gabapentin that mention that effect — a reporting proportion, not an incidence rate and not evidence the drug caused it. Wording is matched across sources by our own clinical vocabulary, so treat this as a prompt to pay attention, not a diagnosis.

Special populations

Ayahuasca in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Lactation Likely Unsafe

When used orally. In addition to its hallucinogenic effects, animal research shows that chronic administration of higher doses of ayahuasca to pregnant animals causes toxicity in the offspring. Avoid using.

DISCLAIMER: This tool is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice. Patients should consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about therapies and/or health conditions.© 2026 Therapeutic Research Center

From our Q&A

Questions About Ayahuasca or Gabapentin

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Ayahuasca or Gabapentin, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Gabapentin

This page covers Ayahuasca only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Gabapentin page lists 106 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Beer (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major) and Kava (major).

By severity: 7 major · 82 moderate · 17 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Gabapentin page

“Gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise) calms overactive nerves, which means it already slows your nervous system down, and that is exactly what 78 of the 106 supplements on this list also do. So the dominant risk here is sedation stacked on sedation, extra drowsiness at best and dangerously slowed breathing at worst, and with seven entries ra…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Gabapentin interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Ayahuasca and Gabapentin Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Ayahuasca
Top half

#432 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Gabapentin
Top 5%

#41 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Ayahuasca reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 13, 2026. The Ayahuasca and Gabapentin records this page draws on were last updated July 11, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Ayahuasca

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca
  • Spiritual and ceremonial rituals
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Substance use disorders
  • Personal or emotional insight

Ayahuasca is a powerful psychoactive brew that combines a DMT-containing plant with a vine that allows the DMT to take effect, causing intense hallucinations. It is illegal in many places, can trigger dangerous reactions, and is not recommended for self-use; talk to a doctor or pharmacist before considering it.

Banisteriopsis caapi · Malpighiaceae · Vine and bark of Banisteriopsis caapi, combined with leaves of DMT-containing plants such as Psychotria viridis · Brewed tea or decoction (the ceremonial drink)

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Ayahuasca is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Ayahuasca record says about it on its own.

Ayahuasca: dosing

There is no established or standardized safe dose for ayahuasca. The strength of the brew varies greatly depending on the plants used and how it is prepared, which makes the amount of active compounds unpredictable.Because of this variability and the serious risks involved, we cannot recommend any dose. If a person is considering ayahuasca, it should only be in a legal, supervised, and medically informed setting.

From our Ayahuasca monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Ayahuasca monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Gabapentin

What Is Gabapentin Used For?

Brand names: Neurontin, Gralise

Gabapentin (brands include Neurontin, Relgaabi, Gabarone, Gralise, and Horizant) is primarily used to manage postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) — the nerve pain that lingers after a shingles outbreak — in adults. Neurontin, Relgaabi, Gabarone, and gabapentin capsules, tablets, and oral solution are also used as add-on therapy for partial onset seizures (a type of epilepsy) in adults and children aged 3 and older.

Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil extended-release tablet) has two specific approvals: treatment of moderate-to-severe primary restless legs syndrome (RLS) in adults, and management of postherpetic neuralgia in adults. Horizant is not recommended for people who need to sleep during the day and stay awake at night. Gralise is approved only for postherpetic neuralgia and cannot be substituted for other gabapentin products due to its different release profile.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Gabapentin

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (361,481 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Fatigue 24,972 reports
Nausea 22,728 reports
Diarrhea 18,114 reports
Headache 17,897 reports
Dizziness 16,238 reports
See full Gabapentin drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Ayahuasca

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Ayahuasca — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
804Moderate
0Minor
2,025No known interaction
804 Moderate 2,025 No interaction
Moderate

804 interactions

Showing 60 of 804 moderate interactions — see all 804 on the Ayahuasca page.

No interaction 2,025 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Ayahuasca against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,025 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Ayahuasca list.

See the full Ayahuasca interactions page
See every supplement checked against Gabapentin, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Ayahuasca References

The 32 references that drive our Ayahuasca monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Kawanishi, K., Hashimoto, Y., Fujiwara, M., Kataoka, Y., and Ueki, S. Pharmacological characteristics of abnormal behavior induced by harmine with special reference to tremor in mice. J Pharmacobiodyn 1981;4(7):520-527. PubMed
  2. Herraiz, T., Gonzalez, D., Ancin-Azpilicueta, C., Aran, V. J., and Guillen, H. beta-Carboline alkaloids in Peganum harmala and inhibition of human monoamine oxidase (MAO). Food Chem Toxicol 2010;48(3):839-845. PubMed
  3. Iurlo, M., Leone, G., Schilstrom, B., Linner, L., Nomikos, G., Hertel, P., Silvestrini, B., and Svensson, H. Effects of harmine on dopamine output and metabolism in rat striatum: role of monoamine oxidase-A inhibition. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2001;159(1 PubMed
  4. Fuller, R. W., Wong, C. J., and Hemrick-Luecke, S. K. MD 240928 and harmaline: opposite selectivity in antagonism of the inactivation of types A and B monoamine oxidase by pargyline in mice. Life Sci 1986;38(5):409-412. PubMed
  5. Zhao, T., He, Y. Q., Wang, J., Ding, K. M., Wang, C. H., and Wang, Z. T. Inhibition of human cytochrome P450 enzymes 3A4 and 2D6 by β-carboline alkaloids, harmine derivatives. Phytother Res 2011;25(11):1671-1677.
  6. Abdel-Fattah, A. F., Matsumoto, K., Murakami, Y., Adel-Khalek, Gammaz H., Mohamed, M. F., and Watanabe, H. Central serotonin level-dependent changes in body temperature following administration of tryptophan to pargyline- and harmaline-pretreated rats. Ge PubMed
  7. Bergstrom, M., Westerberg, G., and Langstrom, B. 11C-harmine as a tracer for monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A): in vitro and in vivo studies. Nucl Med Biol 1997;24(4):287-293. PubMed
  8. Gerardy, J. Effect of moclobemide on rat brain monoamine oxidase A and B: comparison with harmaline and clorgyline. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 1994;18(4):793-802.
  9. Sacher, J., Houle, S., Parkes, J., Rusjan, P., Sagrati, S., Wilson, A. A., and Meyer, J. H. Monoamine oxidase A inhibitor occupancy during treatment of major depressive episodes with moclobemide or St. John's wort: an [11C]-harmine PET study. J Psychiatry
  10. Dos Santos RG, Balthazar FM, Bouso JC, Hallak JE. The current state of research on ayahuasca: A systematic review of human studies assessing psychiatric symptoms, neuropsychological functioning, and neuroimaging. J Psychopharmacol. 2016 Jun 10. pii: 02698 PubMed
  11. Sanches RF, de Lima Osório F, Dos Santos RG, et al. Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression: A SPECT Study. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2016 Feb;36(1):77-81. PubMed
  12. Osório Fde L, Sanches RF, Macedo LR, et al. Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2015 Jan-Mar;37(1):13-20. PubMed
  13. Riba J, Rodríguez-Fornells A, Urbano G, et al. Subjective effects and tolerability of the South American psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2001 Feb;154(1):85-95. PubMed
  14. Pomilio AB, Vitale AA, Ciprian-Ollivier J, Cetkovich-Bakmas M, Gómez R, Vázquez G. Ayahoasca: an experimental psychosis that mirrors the transmethylation hypothesis of schizophrenia. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999 Apr;65(1):29-51. PubMed
  15. Barbosa PC, Mizumoto S, Bogenschutz MP, Strassman RJ. Health status of ayahuasca users. Drug Test Anal. 2012 Jul-Aug;4(7-8):601-9. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Ayahuasca and Gabapentin Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Ayahuasca with Gabapentin?
We do not list a known interaction between Ayahuasca and Gabapentin. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Do Ayahuasca and Gabapentin have any of the same side effects?
Yes — our sources link each of them separately to 10 of the same effects. That is not an interaction: neither changes how your body handles the other. It does mean that if one of those effects turns up, it can be harder to tell which one is behind it. They are listed on this page with the source behind each.
How was the Ayahuasca and Gabapentin combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Gabapentin is filed under 4 classifications, and Ayahuasca has documented interactions with 4 drug classes — none of Gabapentin's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Ayahuasca interact with any other medications?
Yes. Ayahuasca has 804 documented drug interactions in our database — Gabapentin is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Gabapentin interact with any supplements?
Yes. Gabapentin has documented interactions with 106 supplements in our database — Ayahuasca is not one of them. The Gabapentin interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Ayahuasca monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Gabapentin drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Gabapentin supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Gabapentin, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 32 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Gabapentin and Ayahuasca?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.