Indigenous-Amazonian Traditional Medicine’s Usage of the Tobacco Plant: A Transdisciplinary Ethnopsychological Mixed-Methods Case Study
Summary & key facts
Researchers reported a single case where a traditional Amazonian healer gave a weeklong, ritual treatment that included drinking a liquid made from the native tobacco plant. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed low mood, anxiety, and attention problems plus a long-term physical health issue. The team used both daily experience reports during the week and symptom checks before and after. They described the patient’s experiences in detail and found improvements in her well-being after the retreat, but this is one case so it cannot prove the treatment works for others. The study matters because it shows a very different, traditional use of tobacco and adds to interest in plant med
- The tobacco used is Nicotiana rustica, a native plant in the Peruvian Amazon that local healers sometimes prepare as a liquid to be swallowed for healing.
- The study followed one 37-year-old woman who had diagnosed mood problems, anxiety, and attention-deficit symptoms, plus a chronic physical condition.
- The treatment was given during a weeklong, retreat-style ritual led by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer.
- Researchers collected detailed reports of the woman’s experience each day and measured symptoms before and after the week.
- The researchers reported improvements in the patient’s well-being after the week, but they emphasize this is a single case and does not prove the approach is safe or effective for other people.
Abstract
Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in this region. Using a transdisciplinary field research approach with mixed ethnopsychological methods, this work aimed to report for the first time a case study in this context. The intervention took place in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) and involved ritual tobacco ingestion in a weeklong retreat-like frame, administered by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed mood, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as a chronic somatic condition. We applied qualitative experience-sampling during and quantitative symptom assessments pre- and post-treatment. Our findings offer a detailed description of the experiential therapeutic process during the treatment week and suggest clinically relevant improvements in patient well-being. This work is significant in view of the globally prevalent harmful uses of tobacco and the current scientific trend of revisiting herbal psychoactives (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) for their therapeutic potentials.