What is DMT?
A quick primer on dimethyltryptamine
The following is an excerpt from p. 125-127 of Chapter 3, “Everywhere, All the Time: DMT and Drugism” from my book, Drugism (2022):
N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is an indole alkaloid derived from the amino acid tryptophan. While DMT has existed presumably for many millennia, it was first synthesized in a lab in 1931 by Richard H. F. Manske, a German chemist living in Canada.[i] In 1965, a German research team found DMT in human blood and urine.[ii] In 1972, DMT was reported in a sample of human brain tissue by Julius Axelrod, of the US National Institutes of Health. Later research showed that DMT could be found in lung tissue as well as cerebrospinal fluid.[iii] Eventually scientists determined the enzyme responsible for producing DMT in our bodies, indolethylamine N-methyltransferase, or INMT.[iv]
Because DMT is produced inside our bodies, it is considered endogenous, a rare distinction among commonly used drugs.[1] For decades, biologists, chemists, and drug enthusiasts have speculated what role(s) DMT may play in our bodies. Many ideas have been proposed, probably too many to count. Some believe DMT is involved in dreams, out-of-body experiences, and near-death experiences; some believe it is released at birth and at death; some have even suggested that DMT is released at the moment of orgasm.[v]
After years of using DMT, studying it, and writing about it, I have gradually come to believe that endogenous DMT may also be released during times of trauma. Perhaps its attendant rapid transition to out-of-body consciousness is a way to protect the mind from trauma as it occurs. This is just speculation—the connection has never been studied, much less proven.
DMT is widely thought to be produced in the pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain. Pinoline, a betacarboline produced in the pineal gland, may be involved in DMT production. However, the presence of INMT throughout the body suggests that DMT may also be produced elsewhere. For example, it is possible that DMT is produced in the retina, where INMT is present.[vi] Presently, science is unsure exactly where in the body DMT is produced, or why. We do know, however, that DMT binds to 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors, the same that serotonin binds to.[vii] These receptors are found in the brain and elsewhere in the body.
If DMT passes through the digestive system—i.e., if it is eaten—it is broken down by digestive enzymes called monoamine oxidases (MAOs), effectively destroying the DMT before it can reach the blood brain barrier.[viii] Therefore, DMT is generally not active if eaten alone. However, other drugs can be used to bypass the monoamine oxidase enzymes in the body, allowing DMT to be orally active. Known collectively as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) for their effect on our digestive enzymes, these substances have been consumed in tandem with DMT-containing substances for generations. Such combinations are known by many names, each of which carries its own connotations, denotations, and history. More on that later.
DMT is remarkably similar to psilocin, an active compound in Psilocybin mushrooms. Psilocin is present, along with psilocybin and other alkaloids, in many species of psychoactive mushrooms; it is also the metabolite of psilocybin which crosses the blood brain barrier. Psilocin and DMT are structurally quite similar, the only difference being the presence of a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom in the psilocin molecule.[ix]These two extra atoms allow psilocin to pass through the digestive system unaffected by MAOs. In this sense, as Dennis McKenna suggests, psilocin can be thought of as an orally active form of DMT.
DMT occurs naturally in many, many different species on planet Earth. Besides ourselves and several of our animal relatives, DMT (and its analogues) occur in a wide variety of plant species. DMT has been found in trace amounts in oranges and lemons.[x] It is found in larger amounts in many different species of Mimosa and Acacia trees and Phalaris grasses.[xi] It is also found in various Psychotria and Virola species, including those used as traditional medicines by various indigenous communities in the western hemisphere. Many of these species also contain analogues of DMT; some Psychotrias contain MMT, some Acacias contain NMT, etc.[xii]
Analogues of DMT even exist in oceanic life. A close relative of DMT, 5-Br-DMT, is found in the marine sponge Smenospongia aurea, native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.[xiii] Another DMT analogue, 5-MeO-DMT is found in the venom of desert-dwelling Bufo toads, a phenomenon first noted in the 1980s and which, due to demand, has already led to notable declines of Bufo populations in their native habitats.
To what extent DMT is present in other, more commonly consumed species is not clear.[xiv] Unfortunately, the levels of DMT available to us through our diet are likely dwindling due to insecticide use. Glyphosate, the primary compound in the best-selling insecticide Roundup, disables the enzyme that plants use to produce tryptophan, the precursor to DMT.[xv] While citrus trees, countless grass species, Acacia and Mimosa trees, etc. all can produce DMT, if they have been exposed to Roundup their DMT levels are likely minimal or even nonexistent.
Stephen István Szárawas the first to scientifically study the psychotropic effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), performing research with volunteers in the mid-1950s. US researchers were largely in the dark around DMT until Shortly after the Hungarian Revolution, Szára left Hungary and moved to the United States where he eventually became Chief of the Biomedical Branch of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. In the U.S., he worked with Julius Axelrod and others on the metabolism of DMT and related compounds in healthy and schizophrenic volunteers. Leo Hollister videotaped an awesome interview he had with Stephen from 1997. I highly recommend looking it up.