Detection of Psilocybin Mushroom Analogs in Chocolate: Incorporating Current Events into the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory

In this experiment, tryptamine is used as a psilocin analog and is dispersed onto a Fisher brand cellulose laboratory sponge to simulate dehydrated mushrooms. The resulting “mushroom” material is ground, molded into chocolate, and presented to student groups for real-world and applied analyses. Students isolate the tryptamine from the chocolate using their knowledge of drug chemistry, solubility, pH, extractions, etc. Qualitative analysis is conducted by comparison to standards (Thin Layer Chromatography or Gas Chromatography) and quantitative analysis is conducted by Gas Chromatography using the method of internal standards.