What is the difference between Iboga and Ibogaine?

The Iboga Tabernathe bush of West Central Africa is the natural source of Ibogaine HCl. Ibogaine HCl is the psychoactive alkaloid in Iboga and therefore it is extracted from the root bark of the Iboga Tabernathe bush.

Is taking Iboga more natural?

Yes, it is more ‘natural,’ but Iboga contains Ibogaine HCl and other chemicals and alkaloids. It is not uncommon for a dose of Iboga to exceed 80 grams of root bark material, that’s about 2 fist fulls of root bark material that you’d need to consume, and 60+ times the amount of Ibogaine HCl to have the same effects.

As you can imagine, your gut won’t be too happy after eating 2 fist fulls of bitter-tasting, alkaline root bark material, as compared to 2-4 small capsules of Ibogaine HCl. The Bwiti, after giving a traditional dose of fresh iboga root bark material, will follow the person who has taken the Iboga for several hours covering their nose and mouth to attempt to prevent vomiting before the root bark is digested. In addition to vomiting, Iboga root bark taken in psychoactive doses will cause severe gastrointestinal distress including painful cramps and violent diarrhea.

Ibogaine HCl does cause nausea in roughly 80% of people who do a medical flood dose however, to counter this nausea medically licensed Ibogaine treatment centers give anti-nausea medication such as Zofran or Ondansetron. Vomiting during a medical ibogaine flood dose is incredibly rare. Ibogaine HCl does not cause any gastrointestinal distress.

Essentially there are two ways to get Ibogaine HCL into your system. The first way involves eating the root bark material, Iboga, and letting your stomach acids and intestines extract Ibogaine HCl from the root bark while causing nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea. The second way, and the way the best ibogaine treatment facilities do it, involves having a certified pharmaceutical laboratory extract the Ibogaine HCl from the natural plant material at medical purity, known as 4 9ths 5 purity (99.995% pure).

Roughly the amount of iboga root bark you’d need to eat, and keep down, in order to experience the same healing benefit that 2-4 capsules of Ibogaine HCl provide.