The following was written by a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous.
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This file summarizes my first set of experiments in an attempt to create an 
"ayahuasca borealis" brew.  The results were interesting but not truly 
successful - there appears to be something amiss in my materials or 
procedure.

I tried two experiments one weekend - one per day.  In preparation for the 
experiments I ate a somewhat restricted diet beginning on Friday, without 
cheese or aged meats or any of the other foods known to be a risk for 
people taking MAO inhibitors.

On Saturday morning I prepared my first mixture.  Starting materials 
consisted of 4gm of harmala seeds (crushed in a mortar but not actually 
ground or powdered) and 1 oz of chopped root of Desmanthus illinoensis.  
The harmala seeds were mixed with roughly 1 cup of a mixture of water and 
distilled vinegar (roughly 4:1) and simmered for 30 minutes, then strained 
and filtered.  The root was similarly simmered, strained, and filtered with 
a fresh water/vinegar solution.  I combined the liquids and began simmering 
them to reduce their volume, while doing two more extractions of the 
remaining solid material from the seeds and roots.  After a total of four 
extraction cycles, the solid residue was discarded.  The combined liquids 
were simmered down to a combined volume of about 3/4 cup (at which point 
it was somewhat viscous) and then chilled to near freezing (to kill the 
taste).

I gulped down the gruey mixture on an empty stomach, and sat back to wait 
for results.  Almost none were forthcoming, either immediately or within 
a couple of hours.  I noticed no effects at all worth mentioning.

I repeated the experiment on Sunday, using twice the original amount 
of Desmanthus root, and the same amount of harmala seeds.  I suspected 
that either the root's active content was lower than had been reported in
the literature, or perhaps I had consumed an inadequate amount of harmala
alkaloids to activate it.  As the ayahuasca literature contains reports 
of multi-day ayahuasca sessions (with the MAO-inhibition of the beta 
carbolines being somewhat cumulative) I thought that I might get better 
results the next day.

The results were mixed.  About an hour after ingestion, I noticed a 
definite sense of excitation and physical restlessness.  In Shulgin's 
terms (as best as I understand them) I'd call this a "plus one" 
indication of activity - definitely more than an "alert".  I don't think 
it reached Shulgin's "plus two" level.

On the negative side, I began feeling a good deal of dizziness, motion 
sensitivity, and nausea at about this time, and developed a strong 
disinclination to move about (this may have been from the sedative 
effects of the harmala).  The plus-one effects faded after twenty 
minutes or so and did not return, but the dizziness and queasiness 
remained.  After about four hours, I felt well enough (and hungry enough) 
to eat some soup.  Either this was entirely a mistake, or I ate too 
much.  I became increasingly nauseated, and after about half an hour 
vomited several times.

My stomach settled down gradually after a few more hours.  I drank fruit 
juice but avoided solid foods for the rest of the day, and felt fine the 
next morning.  I gradually sampled some coffee and cheese during the day, 
without detectable side effects - apparently the MAO inhibition of the 
harmala seeds had worn off.

At this point, I have several ideas as to why the brew was not as 
effective as I'd thought it would be.  It may be that the Desmanthus root 
was indeed less potent than expected - it appears to be fairly woody and 
to have a relatively small proportion of root-bark.  It may be that I 
should have ground the bark (and/or the harmala seed) more finely to make 
the extraction more efficient - I had depended on a fairly long boiling 
in vinegar-water to dissolve the active alkaloids, and this may not have 
been sufficient (or may perhaps have gone on for long enough to cause the 
alkaloids to break down or oxidize).

Ott uses an extraction procedure involving finely-ground materials washed 
with diluted lime juice, but without prolonged boiling - he likens it to 
making coffee or tea.  For my next experiment, I'll probably try his 
procedure and perhaps use a somewhat larger amount of Desmanthus root (the 
4g of harmala seeds seem to be consistent with levels reported effective in 
several articles I've read, and not so much to result in toxic effects from 
the harmine).

Nausea and vomiting are a common element in reports of ayahuasca use.  I 
don't know whether this in an inevitable side effect of MAO/tryptamine 
ayahuasca brews, or whether it's possible to avoid them by partially 
purifying the starting materials and eliminating some of the grosser 
plant matter from the brew (e.g. by extracting the harmine from the 
harmala seeds, and discarding the bulk of the seeds).