Both have depression evidence, but for different presentations. Ibogaine’s strongest depression data comes from comorbid PTSD and TBI contexts: Cherian et al. (2024) found 87% reduction in depression symptoms in veterans with traumatic brain injury; Noller et al. (2018) found BDI-II scores fell from 22.1 to 4.4 over 12 months. Ayahuasca’s depression evidence comes from treatment-resistant depression specifically: Palhano-Fontes et al. (2019) found a 64% response rate vs 27% placebo in a randomised trial. In short: ibogaine evidence is strongest where depression is linked to trauma or TBI; ayahuasca evidence is strongest for chronic treatment-resistant depression without those complicating factors.
