Phalaris arundinacea
DMT is broken down by the enzyme monoamine oxidase through a process called deamination, and is quickly inactivated orally unless combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). The traditional South American beverage ayahuasca, or yage, is derived by boiling the ayahuasca vine ("Banisteriopsis caapi") with leaves of one or more plants containing DMT, such as "Psychotria viridis", "Psychotria carthagenensis", or "Diplopterys cabrerana". The Ayahuasca vine contains harmala alkaloids, highly active reversible inihibitors of monoamine oxidase A (RIMAs), rendering the DMT orally active by protecting it from deamination. A variety of different recipes are used to make the brew depending on the purpose of the ayahuasca session, or local availability of ingredients. Two common sources of DMT in the western US are reed canary grass ("Phalaris arundinacea") and Harding grass ("Phalaris aquatica"). These invasive grasses contain low levels of DMT and other alkaloids but also contain gramine, which is toxic and difficult to separate. In addition, Jurema ("Mimosa tenuiflora") shows evidence of DMT content: the pink layer in the inner rootbark of this small tree contains a high concentration of "N,N"-DMT.