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6 November 2024
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Anyone who knows anything about magic mushrooms knows that the psychoactive substance in magic mushrooms is called psilocybin. More and more is known about psilocybin and it is even used in mental health care. But there are all kinds of other interesting substances in magic mushrooms, which may also have a lot going for them. You can read all about it in this blog.
Psilocybin is pretty much the star of magic mushrooms. It causes the well-known trip and is therefore the best-known substance in magic mushrooms. But these particular mushrooms contain other substances, which can also have their own unique effects. And that’s not all.
Different substances in a product, whether cannabis or magic mushrooms, can affect each other’s effects. Thus, it is believed that THC, CBD, CBG and CBN (the cannabinoids in cannabis) reinforce and can alter each other’s effects. This is called the entourage effect. The substances in magic mushrooms, the potentially mind-altering alkaloids, could also have that influence on each other. Only much less is known about this. Below you can read what we now know about their contribution to a trip with magic mushrooms.
Psilocybin is considered the most important substance by most psychonauts. It is the psychoactive substance also being studied by scientists for its possible positive effects on anxiety, depression, trauma, addictions and eating disorders, among others. Psilocybin is found in more than 200 species of mushrooms, most of which belong to the Psilocybe family. Aside from mushrooms, at least one study suggests that it is also found in a rare lichen.
But contrary to what most people think, it is not psilocybin that directly affects our brain. Psilocybin is a precursor substance, which is converted in our body to the active substance psilocin. That can then cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the 5-HT2A receptor. It is ultimately responsible for the special effects that magic mushrooms can cause.
Compared to psilocybin, psilocin is an unstable substance. Under the influence of oxygen, among other things, it can be broken down and causes the characteristic blue color you can see on damaged or old mushrooms. Not so long ago, people did not know which substance was responsible. It was not until 2020 that this was discovered by Claudius Lenz and colleagues in Germany.
Baeocystine is an alkaloid similar in chemical structure to psilocybin. It is generally found in the same mushroom species as psilocybin, but in much lower concentrations. Not much is known about what the effects of baeocystine are on their own. Jochen Gartz, a mycologist from Germany, noted in his book “Magic Mushrooms Around the World” that the psychoactive effects are similar to those of psilocybin.
Paul Stamets, on the other hand, claimed in a Joe Rogan podcast, that a pure baeocystine trip (during an intense anxiety attack) did not cause the same hallucinations you would get with psilocybin. It did cause his pupils to dilate and make his anxiety disappear.
There has been only one study so far that looked purely at the mind-altering effects of baeocytin. The study was conducted in 2020 on mice. The scientists measured the “head twitch response,” how much the mice moved their heads, which is a reliable measure for predicting whether something will cause hallucinations in humans. The mice were exposed to different concentrations of baeocystin and there appeared to be no effect. This seems to support Stamets’ observations, but more research is needed to clarify this.
Norbaeocystine was discovered at the same time as baeocystine, by the same scientists. Unfortunately, we know little about its effects. Scientists at the Usona Institute can now synthesize this alkaloid, but no studies have yet been done on its psychoactive effects.
Norpsilocin has also only just been discovered. This alkaloid is believed to be the metabolized equivalent of baeocystine. So similar to psilocybin and psilocin. However, a 2020 study shows that norpsilocin, unlike psilocin, cannot break the blood-brain barrier. As a result, it cannot cause hallucinations either. Curiously, norpsilocin was used in a test examining what effect it had on the 5-HT2A receptor. This showed that the substance was even more potent than psilocin. That does make norpsilocin mysterious. The question is whether norpsilocin might affect other receptors or chemical pathways in the body.
One of the other substances found in magic mushrooms is aeruginascin. It was discovered in 1989 in the magic mushroom with the complicated name Inocybe aeruginascens, but recent research shows that the substance is also found in Psilocybe cubensis. Aeruginascin is similar in chemical formatting to the other alkaloids in magic mushrooms. However, it also shares similarities with bufotenidine, a chemical found in the venom of certain toads. In a 1989 paper, Jochen Gartz analyzed 23 cases in which people accidentally ingested Inocybe aeruginascens. In each case, this caused euphoria. This sounds good, of course, but we still know little about the effects of aeruginascin by itself or in combination with other substances.
As you can read, mushrooms contain many other fascinating substances besides psilocybin that can affect your trip. And we are far from knowing exactly how these substances interact with each other. Whether or not the entourage effect occurs with magic mushrooms, it is clear that our magic mushrooms have a lot more going for them than psilocybin. Consider also that each mushroom strain, and even each mushroom on its own, has its own unique composition of psychoactive compounds. Just look around our shop and discover the different mushroom species or microdosing truffles. Using a simple grow kit, you will have fresh mushrooms in your home within a few weeks.
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