Psilocybin-producing mushrooms exhibit considerable biochemical diversity, yet the extent of variability among strains within a single species under standardized conditions remains insufficiently characterized. In this study, we quantified psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, aeruginascin, and norpsilocin in the fruiting bodies of 14 distinct str...
The purpose of this review is to evaluate the possible benefits of using psilocybin(C12H17N2O4P), a naturally occurring psychoactive compound found in certain species of mushrooms, in the treatment of multiple forms of mental illness and substance abuse in either monotherapy or in conjunction with traditional psychiatric medications. The compound acts as a h...
Background: Psilocybin, a key psychoactive compound found in Psilocybe mushrooms, has gained increasing attention due to its therapeutic potential in neuropsychiatric disorders [1]. However, comparative preclinical data between isolated psilocybin and whole mushroom extracts remain scarce, particularly regarding behavioural reinforcement and peripheral toxic...
To support ongoing clinical trials, the major human metabolites of psilocybin were synthesized on a preparative scale, specifically psilocin-O-glucuronide and 4-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (4-HIAA), along with putative minor metabolites and several deuterium-labeled derivatives. Psilocybin, psilocin, psilocin-O-glucuronide, and 4-HIAA were assayed for engage...
Bufotenin (also spelt as bufotenine) and its methylated derivative, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), are potent psychedelics that are found in many plants but also excreted by some species of toads. The compounds are regulated differently around the world, and although used in traditional medicine, 20-century prohibition culture has slowed resea...
Psilocybin is a psychoactive tryptamine produced by a phylogenetically discontinuous yet ecologically diverse subset of fungi. Despite decades of chemical, pharmacological, and ethnobiological research, the evolutionary forces driving the emergence and persistence of this compound remain insufficiently explained. Recent hypotheses proposing that psilocybin e...
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Psilocybin, the phosphorylated prodrug of psilocin, holds therapeutic promise across a range of neuropsychiatric conditions, yet its clinical utility is constrained by acute psychoactive effects. Here, we report the rational design, synthesis, and evaluation of a focused library of fluorinated reversible N -...
Psilocybin is a molecule with significant potential for the treatment of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. In this study, it was explored the extraction of psilocybin from Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms using a factorial design approach, along with the physicochemical and phytochemical characteri...
Laws to control drugs have been progressively introduced since the early twentieth century to reduce non-medical use and drug-associated harm. Restrictions on what are now deemed ‘controlled drugs’ and, in New Zealand, ‘prohibited plants’ unjustly impact both medical care and research. The impact on research has frequently been cited in reference to the use ...
In the absence of specific studies on the Psilocybe genus in Italy, we provide information on the taxonomy, habitat, ecology, and distribution of the nine taxa currently recorded for Italy. A nomenclatural update of Psilocybe taxa reported in the Checklist of Italian Fungi (Basidiomycetes), published in 2005, is provided and seven scientific binomials are co...
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Mental disorders of the global population have been evaluated statistically by decades. Psilocybin has medicinal properties with potential pharmaceutical applications for treatment of psychological disorders. This component is present naturally in mushrooms of the Psilocybe genus and is primarily responsible...
Czechia has recently approved the medical use of psilocybin, marking a pivotal shift in the country’s drug policy landscape. This development paves the way for regulated therapeutic applications of psilocybin within clinical settings, while simultaneously prompting a timely discussion on the potential uses of psychedelics beyond strictly medical contexts. Th...
Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has been shown in early trials to reduce the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of PAT as a third-line treatment for major depressive disorder compared to standard of care (SOC). We used an individual-level, probabilistic simulation model that portrays representative...
Background: Cancer poses an existential threat for patients and caregivers. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) has emerged as a potential tool to meet these existential needs, yet little is known about how patients describe this element of their cancer journey, and how it might be affected by PAT, especially in the group therapy context. Purpose: To explore h...
BACKGROUND: The consumption of dried fruiting bodies of Psilocybe cubensis can be traced over centuries, guided by Mesoamerican curanderas, Western medical practitioners, and fungal enthusiasts, all seeking mental wellbeing. There is a notable resurgence in interest both in the fungal biomass and psilocybin, the psychoactive tryptamine, despite the global re...
