| Harmal | ||||||||||||||
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 Harmal (Peganum harmala) flower | ||||||||||||||
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| Peganum harmala L. | ||||||||||||||
Harmal (Peganum harmala) is a plant of the family Nitrariaceae, native from the eastern Mediterranean region east to India. It is also sometimes known as Syrian Rue, a confusing name as it is not related to rue (Ruta, family Rutaceae).
Traditional uses
It has been used as an entheogen in the Middle East, and in modern Western culture, it is often used as an analogue of Banisteriopsis caapi to create Ayahuasca, a South American entheogen. Syrian Rue, however, has a distinctly different chemical makeup than caapi, and a unique character of its own.
In Turkey, dried capsules from this plant are strung and hung in homes and vehicles to protect against the evil eye.
In Iran, dried capsules - mixed with other ingredients - are burnt so as to produce a light, distinctly scented smoke. It is used as an air as well as mind purifier, to be linked to its believed entheogenic properties. This practice, which roots back in pre-Islamic - Zoroastrian - times, is still used by the Iranians.
The active alkaloids of Harmal seeds are the MAOI (MonoAmine Oxidase Inhibitor) compounds harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine (collectively known as harmala alkaloids).