N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychodysleptic substance found in several plants and is used by native Amazonians (in the form of a beverage called ayahuasca). In rabbits injected with 131 I-labeled DMT, for how long did it remain detectable in the brain after administration?
7 days. DMT was shown to have entered the brain within seconds and was partially renally excreted. However, even after renal excretion of the labeled DMT, ceased its presence was still detectable in the brain, suggesting it was subjected to storage in intracellular vesicles.
Arturo A. Vitale, Alicia B. Pomilio, Carlos O. Cañellas, Martín G. Vitale, Eva Maria Putz and Jorge Ciprian-Ollivier. InVivo Long-Term Kinetics of Radiolabeled N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and Tryptamine. Journal of Nuclear Medicine June 2011, 52 (6) 970-977; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.110.083246
Contributed by Kristine Nanagas, MD