Root bark of D. illinoensis has been found to contain N,N-DMT, NMT, N-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine, 2-hydroxy-N-methyltryptamine, and gramine (toxic).
Fitzgerald and Siournis reported in the Australian Journal of Chemistry (1965, volume 18, pp. 433–4) that a sample of the bark contained 0.36% of the hallucinogen DMT as well as 0.24% of N-methyltryptamine.
Reported side effects include anxiety, restlessness, muscle tension, jaw tightness, pupil dilation, tachycardia, headaches, nausea, and vomiting, among other effects that might commonly be attributed to LSD, psilocybin, DMT and MDMA, such as delusions and hallucinations.