Tabernanthe iboga Facts

''Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga'' Baillon, Apocynaceae) — eboka — is a West and Central African rainforest shrub whose root bark is consumed as a powerful psychoactive preparation. Its dominant alkaloid, ibogaine, acts on multiple brain systems simultaneously — including glutamate, opioid, nicotinic, and serotonin pathways.^[1] This broad multi-system action produces prolonged visionary and dissociative states unlike any other known plant.

Subjective effects include vivid autobiographical visions, contact with perceived entities, intense body sensitivity, profound dissociation, and severe loss of coordination.^[2] The experience is predominantly internal and dream-like, lasting 12–24 hours in the acute phase with residual effects persisting up to 72 hours.

Ibogaine does not produce physical dependence or compulsive redosing,^[3] but the primary acute risk is cardiac — ibogaine slows heart repolarization in a way that can trigger fatal arrhythmias, particularly without continuous cardiac monitoring.^[4] Co-administration with other heart-affecting drugs or certain antidepressants substantially amplifies this risk.