Magic truffles or Philosopher's stones: a legal way to sell psilocybin?

Pellegrini, Manuela; Rotolo, Maria Concetta; Marchei, Emilia; Pacifici, Roberta; Saggio, Francesco; Pichini, Simona

doi:10.1002/dta.1400

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This measurement followed the same procedure as in our previous study Prochazkova et al, (2018) and its results and procedure are described in detail in the Supplementary materials. Analyses of truffles showed that 1 gram of dehydrated truffles contained on average 1.14mg of active psychedelic alkaloids (psilocybin and psilocin combined) which is similar to previous studies (Pellegrini et al, 2013). Previous clinical trials utilized 10 mg of synthetic psilocybin as a safe clinical dose .…”

Section: The Truffe Dosingsupporting

confidence: 82%

Microdosing psychedelics and its effect on creativity: Lessons learned from three double-blind placebo controlled longitudinal trials

Prochazkova¹,

M²,

Marschall³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Microdosing refers to the repetitive administration of tiny doses of psychedelics (LSD, Psilocybin) over an extended period of time. This practice has been linked to alleged cognitive benefits, such as improved mood and creativity, potentiated by targeting serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and facilitating cognitive flexibility. Nonetheless, in the absence of robust, quantitative and double-blind research on the effect of microdosing, such claims remain anecdotal.Methods: Here, our main aim was to quantitatively explore the effect of microdosing psychedelic truffles on two creativity tasks assumed to rely on separable processes: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. We present results from 3 double-blind placebo-controlled longitudinal trials (of which one was pre-registered) conducted in a semi-naturalistic setting. Furthermore, we controlled for expectation and learning biases, and the data were mega-analyzed across trials with a pooled sample of 175 participants in order to maximize statistical power.Results: In the final analyses we found that active microdosing increased the ratio of original responses (originality/fluency), indicating higher quality of divergent answers in the active microdosing condition. The unadjusted originality score was significantly more pronounced in the active microdosing condition, but only when relative dosage (dose/weight of participants) was considered. These effects were present after controlling for expectation and demographic biases. No effects of active microdosing were found for convergent thinking or any other divergent-thinking score. The results suggest that the effects of truffle mirodosing are limited to divergent quality and are more subtle than initially anticipated. Our findings furthermore highlighted the importance of controlling for expectation biases, placebo effects, and prior psychedelic experience in microdosing practice and research.

show abstract

Section: The Truffe Dosingsupporting

confidence: 82%

Microdosing psychedelics and its effect on creativity: Lessons learned from three double-blind placebo controlled longitudinal trials

Prochazkova¹,

M²,

Marschall³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All of the concentration levels are given in wt.% of dry matter. The preparation of the mushroom samples and the extraction method were inspired by other studies 22,37–41 . Based on the fact that mushroom indole alkaloids are compounds with high polarity, we used polar solvents 16 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In clinical studies, mainly synthetic forms of psilocybin and psilocin have been administrated to subjects. However, studies in which people were given the natural form of these tryptamines known as “magic truffles” (sclerotia of some Psilocybe species) have also been published 21,22 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of psilocybin and its four analogs in the biomass of the psychotropic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis

Gotvaldová

Hájková

Borovička

et al. 2020

Drug Testing and Analysis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin are tryptamines structurally similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Psilocybin and its pharmacologically active metabolite psilocin in particular are known for their psychoactive effects. These substances typically occur in most species of the genus Psilocybe (Fungi, Strophariaceae). Even the sclerotia of some of these fungi known as “magic truffles” are of growing interest in microdosing due to them improving cognitive function studies. In addition to microdosing studies, psilocybin has also been applied in clinical studies, but only its pure form has been administrated so far. Moreover, the determination of tryptamine alkaloids is used in forensic analysis. In this study, freshly cultivated fruit bodies of Psilocybe cubensis were used for monitoring stability (including storage and processing conditions of fruiting bodies). Furthermore, mycelium and the individual parts of the fruiting bodies (caps, stipes, and basidiospores) were also examined. The concentration of tryptamines in final extracts was analyzed using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. No tryptamines were detected in the basidiospores, and only psilocin was present at 0.47 wt.% in the mycelium. The stipes contained approximately half the amount of tryptamine alkaloids (0.52 wt.%) than the caps (1.03 wt.%); however, these results were not statistically significant, as the concentration of tryptamines in individual fruiting bodies is highly variable. The storage conditions showed that the highest degradation of tryptamines was seen in fresh mushrooms stored at −80°C, and the lowest decay was seen in dried biomass stored in the dark at room temperature.

show abstract

“…This tryptamine is also subject to phase II metabolism to the O-glucuronide, the main metabolite detected in human urine. In recent years, fungis' sclerotia, commonly called "magic truffles," frequently supply the psychoactive Psilocybe alkaloids, as Psilocybe sclerotia are not specifically included in the laws banning the sale, the purchase and the use of such substances [37]. Terms for magic truffles include The Philosopher Stones, Space truffles, Sclerotia Stones or Sclerotia.…”

Section: Tryptamines Of Natural Originmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicology and Analysis of Psychoactive Tryptamines

Malaca

Faro

Tamborra

et al. 2020

IJMS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Our understanding of tryptamines is poor due to the lack of data globally. Tryptamines currently are not part of typical toxicology testing regimens and their contribution to drug overdoses may be underestimated. Although their prevalence was low, it is increasing. There are few published data on the many new compounds, their mechanisms of action, onset and duration of action, toxicity, signs and symptoms of intoxication and analytical methods to identify tryptamines and their metabolites. We review the published literature and worldwide databases to describe the newest tryptamines, their toxicology, chemical structures and reported overdose cases. Tryptamines are 5-HT2A receptor agonists that produce altered perceptions of reality. Currently, the most prevalent tryptamines are 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DiPT), 5-methoxy-N,N- diallyltryptamine (5-MeO-DALT) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). From 2015 to 2020, 22 new analytical methods were developed to identify/quantify tryptamines and metabolites in biological samples, primarily by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The morbidity accompanying tryptamine intake is considerable and it is critical for clinicians and laboratorians to be informed of the latest data on this public health threat.

show abstract

Magic truffles or Philosopher's stones: a legal way to sell psilocybin?

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

Microdosing psychedelics and its effect on creativity: Lessons learned from three double-blind placebo controlled longitudinal trials

Microdosing psychedelics and its effect on creativity: Lessons learned from three double-blind placebo controlled longitudinal trials

Stability of psilocybin and its four analogs in the biomass of the psychotropic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis

Toxicology and Analysis of Psychoactive Tryptamines

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About