ent case. We note that Hochstein and Paradies are care- 
ful to explain that the ‘‘second plant, ‘yage’. .. . was 
made available to us as an aqueous extract of the leaves. ”’ 
This statement, together with the knowledge that the 
identification was not based upon herbarium material, 
leads us to believe that the aqueous extract was sent in 
directly from the field. It is probable, therefore, that the 
identification was made by tracing the vernacular name 
yaje which, in much of the literature, has, for some 
inexplicable reason, often been referred to Prestonia 
amazonica. 
A significant observation from the chemist’s point of 
view was made recently, when Raffauf and Folger (22) 
stated that the “‘reported occurrence of only one simple 
indole in the Apocynaceae to date is of sufficient interest 
to warrant some speculation. The structure looks enough 
out of place to suggest that the sample studied was not 
Prestonia at all, and indeed, N,N-dimethyltryptamine 
was isolated from an aqueous extract of leaves, the bo- 
tanical origin of which appears to be in doubt. Confir- 
mation of the presence of this alkaloid in an authentic 
specimen of the plant is certainly necessary.’ ' 
Because of the fundamental importance of a thorough 
and detailed understanding of the botanical sources of 
the New World narcotics, it seems advisable to us, in 
view of the existing confusion, to review the whole his- 
tory of whether or not Prestonia is employed as an hal- 
lucinogen in the Amazon under the name yaje. In so 
doing, we realize that only further field work can be defin- 
itive. Such field work, nevertheless, should be attempted 
'The possibility that an authentic specimen of Prestonia amazonica 
would yield N,N-dimethyltryptamine must not be excluded. Trypta- 
mine is recognized as a possible intermediate in the biogenetic path- 
ways to the harman-type alkaloids on the one hand (Malpighiaceae, 
Rutaceae) and many of the more complicated indole types (Apocyna- 
ceae) on the other. See R. Hegnauer, Planta Medica 6 (1958) 1). 
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