The seeds yield a dye (‘turkish red’ or ‘syrian red’) long used in ‘Persian’ carpets. Seeds and roots contain b-carboline alkaloids, mostly harmine, as well as harmaline, harmalol, harman, peganine, isopeganine, dipegene, vasicinone and deoxyvasicinone. Egyptian studies found that extract is markedly fungicidal and bactericidal, due to harmine mostly. Reported to be used as an incense and spice, and to used as abortificant, narcotic, aphrodisiac, stimulant , sedative, emmanagogue, emetic, vermifuge, soporific. Reported to be used in India for syphilis, fever in North Africa, and for fever, hysteria, malaria, neuralgia, parkinsonism, prolapse of the womb, rheumatism, colic, asthma, eye complaints. Has been proposed as a candidate for the Zoroastrian drug "haoma". B-carboline alkaloids stimulate the brain and may induce visual hallucinations. Distinguished from B. caapi biochemically by reversed relative concentrations of harmine and
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