Psilocybin, a psychedelic drug with reported anxiolytic and antidepressant potential, is rapidly metabolized to its active metabolite psilocin. However, a lack of adequate toxicity studies and tissue distribution studies currently restricts its development and application. This study combined behavioral assays in zebrafish with desorption electrospray ioniza...
ABSTRACT Psilocybin, one of the primary active compounds in magic mushrooms, is metabolized into psilocin in the human body. In this study, we employed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), leveraging its unique molecular fingerprinting capabilities and high sensitivity, in combination with silver-coated gold nanoparticles (Au@AgNPs) as the enhancement...
Psilocin is a psychedelic indole alkaloid and one of the major human metabolites of its phosphorylated precursor, psilocybin. Psilocin binds to the serotonin receptor, 5-HT2A, and dose-dependently induces hallucinogenic effects stronger than psilocybin. As a result, psilocin has been a drug of interest in the analytical toxicology community for years. In viv...
The psychedelic psilocybin has shown therapeutic potential, yet underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated the impact of psilocin-the active metabolite of psilocybin-on basal activity and reactivity within the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) and PVT projections to central amygdala (CeA) in rats. Psilocin administrati...
Detecting psilocybin use is challenging because it rapidly converts to its psychoactive metabolite psilocin, and both compounds are unstable in blood. Bufotenin, a structural isomer of psilocin, may exhibit comparable instability in blood. For reliable detection, we developed and validated an LC-MS/MS method to simultaneously quantify psilocin, bufotenin, an...
Panaeolus sensu lato is a group of hallucinogenic mushrooms commonly found on dung, in pasture areas, grasslands, and forests. Previous studies indicated that the Panaeolus s.l. clade (panaeo-clade) could be ranked as a family ( Galeropsidaceae ), pending further evidence. In this study, based on phylogenomic, multigene phylogenetic, molecular clock, and mor...
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) remain an ongoing challenge for public health, forensic laboratories, and regulatory agencies, especially when they are chemically related to controlled tryptamines but are marketed as legal alternatives. In the United States, the Federal Analogue Act (FAA) was intended to restrict such substances; however, regulatory loop...
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...
Classic psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT from unregulated markets pose considerable risks through unknown adulterants and potencies. In this chapter, we explore the importance of drug checking in minimizing harm among users of classic psychedelics and examine the opportunities and challenges associated with intervention settings, analytical tech...
Distinguishing metabolite isomers often relies on comparing relative data, such as relative chromatographic retention times and ion mobility arrival time orders, or relative product ion abundances. These approaches necessitate the need for quality reference data and/or chemical standards. An ideal method for differentiating isomers would leverage one of the ...
Background: Tramadol is a synthetic opioid analgesic prescribed for moderate pain. Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is a naturally occurring psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms, often referred to as "magic mushrooms" and is classified as a Schedule I substance. This case report aimed to present the unexpected detection of psil...
Fast screening approaches based on paper spray ionization were developed to identify psycho-neurological disorders mushrooms. Directly spraying from mushroom tissue already allowed direct identification of muscarine, psilocin, and ibotenic acid within 2-3 min. For quantitative analysis of the more challenging ibotenic acid, a new anion-exchange modified pape...
Psilocybin mushrooms, particularly those containing the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin, have attracted recent attention due to their potential therapeutic use for the treatment of psychological disorders. To use psilocybin mushrooms in a clinical context, it is important to understand their chemical composition more fully. An untargeted analy...
Psilocybe "magic mushrooms" are best known for their indolethylamine psilocybin, yet they encode enzymes for a much more diverse arsenal of small and potentially bioactive molecules. Herein, four Psilocybe cubensis clade III sesquiterpene synthases, CubB-CubE, whose genes are differently expressed in fruiting bodies compared to vegetative mycelium are report...
BACKGROUND: Psilocybin-containing mushrooms are gaining the attention of the scientific community due to the potential benefits offered by their psychoactive phytochemicals in the treatment of addiction and various mental health conditions. Although there are hundreds of different Psilocybe species, only a handful have been successfully cultivated under indo...
The antimicrobial compound psilocybin possesses psychoactive properties with therapeutic applications. Psilocybin is the main component naturally present in psychedelic mushrooms and has been utilized in the treatment of depression and neurological disorders. In this study, psychedelic mushrooms were collected from Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. They underwent solv...
Protonation is the most frequent adduct found in positive electrospray ionization collision-induced mass spectra (CID-MS/MS). In a parallel report Lee, J. J. Chem. Inf. Model. 2024, 10.1021/acs.jcim.4c00760, we developed a quantum chemistry framework to predict mass spectra by collision-induced dissociation molecular dynamics (CIDMD). As different protonatio...
Antidepressants including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, ketamine, and psilocybin are all effective for treating depression despite their distinct primary mechanisms. We hypothesized that these drugs may share a common mechanism that underlies their therapeutic actions. We treated mice with one of the following: escitalopram, R- / S -/ RS- ketamine...
Psilocybin is a psychedelic compound found in some hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms". Psilocin is the active metabolite of Psilocybin, and it is the subject of several studies for the treatment of psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. As such, the pharmacokinetic properties of psilocin should be evaluated to...
Mushroom poisoning is a significant contributor to foodborne disease outbreaks in China. This study focuses on two Panaeolus subbalteatus poisoning incidents accompanied by epidemiological investigations, species identification, and toxin detection in Ningxia, northwest China. In these two poisoning incidents, some patients exhibited gastrointestinal or neur...
