Drug Testing and Analysis
October 29, 2020
Klára Gotvaldová, Kateřina Hájková, Jan Borovička et al.
69 citations
Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin are tryptamines structurally similar to serotonin. Psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin are known for psychoactive effects and occur in most Psilocybe fungi. Freshly cultivated Psilocybe cubensis fruit bodies were used to monitor stability under various storage and processing conditions. Mycelium and individual parts (caps, stipes, basidiospores) were examined via ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. No tryptamines were detected in basidiospores; only psilocin was present at 0.47 wt.% in mycelium. Stipes contained about half the tryptamine alkaloids (0.52 wt.%) compared to caps (1.03 wt.%), but results were not statistically significant due to high variability. Highest degradation occurred in fresh mushrooms stored at -80°C; lowest decay in dried biomass stored in dark at room temperature.
RSC Advances
January 1, 2017
Bronislav Jurásek, Michal Himl, Radek Jurok et al.
13 citations
Methoxetamine, a designer drug sold as a substitute for the dissociative anesthetic ketamine, has been linked to numerous hospital intoxications and deaths across Europe.
Metabolites
March 31, 2021
Anna Šuláková, Jitka Nykodemová, Petr Palivec et al.
11 citations
N-Benzylphenethylamines, including 25CN-NBOMe, are novel psychedelic substances with limited metabolism data. This study investigated the metabolic profile of 25CN-NBOMe in rats in vivo and in human liver microsomes and Cunninghamella elegans mycelium in vitro. Major metabolic pathways include mono- and bis-O-demethylation, hydroxylation, and combinations, followed by glucuronidation, sulfation, or N-acetylation of primary metabolites. The cyano group was either hydrolyzed to an amide or carboxylic acid or remained unchanged. Differences between species should be considered in metabolism studies of novel substances.
New Journal of Chemistry
January 1, 2023
Bronislav Jurásek, Patrik Fagan, Bohumil Dolenský et al.
6 citations
Methoxphenidine, a dissociative anesthetic related to phencyclidine, was originally patented for its potential to treat neurotoxic injury. The abstract indicates that the compound was developed with therapeutic applications in mind, specifically for addressing damage to the nervous system. No further details about its efficacy, mechanism, or clinical use are provided in this text.
Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
July 5, 2025
Hynek Danda, Kristýna Mazochová, Klára Šíchová et al.
1 citation
Baeocystin, a compound found in psychoactive mushrooms, has minimal to no behavioral effects in rats, likely because it poorly crosses the blood-brain barrier. After subcutaneous doses of 1.25 or 5 mg/kg, baeocystin and its metabolite norpsilocin showed very limited brain penetration. Consistent with this, the compound had no significant effects on locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, anxiety-like responses, or sensorimotor gating in Wistar rats. The findings suggest baeocystin's negligible neurobiological and psychedelic activity is due to its poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 28, 2025
Yana Vella, Kateřina Syrová, Aneta Petrušková et al.
1 citation
Psilocin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, promotes the formation of new synapses in rat brain cells, an effect comparable to ketamine and lithium. In laboratory experiments on rat cortical cultures, psilocin increased the number of synaptic puncta and boosted expression of the immediate early gene Arc after acute treatment. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) did not produce significant synaptogenic effects. Fluoxetine, a common antidepressant, had no effect on synapse formation but upregulated other immediate early genes. These findings add evidence that psilocin may be a promising therapeutic agent for psychiatric conditions.
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
February 1, 2025
Martin Kuchař, Klara Gotwaldova, Jan Borovička et al.
1 citation
Tryptamine concentrations in psychotropic mushrooms vary enormously, which may alter medicinal effects compared to chemically pure psilocybin. Storage conditions strongly affect alkaloid decay: the greatest degradation occurred in fresh mushrooms stored at −80°C, while the least decay was seen in dried biomass kept in the dark at room temperature. The study measured psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin in a large sample set of mushroom genera, using freshly cultivated Psilocybe cubensis fruit bodies for stability monitoring, and analyzed mycelium and individual fruiting body parts with validated UHPLC-MS/MS.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
August 7, 2024
Yana Vella, Kateřina Syrová, Aneta Petrušková et al.
1 citation
preprint
Psychedelics can produce rapid and lasting antidepressant effects, likely through neuroplasticity, though the precise molecular mechanisms are not yet understood.
Addiction Biology
March 1, 2026
Isis Koutrouli, Vojtěch Brejtr, Marek Schwendt et al.
Psilocybin and ibogaine, given in a dose-escalation protocol, facilitated extinction learning in male rats that had self-administered cocaine. Psilocybin reduced active lever pressing one day after the second dose, with a nonsignificant reduction after the first dose; ibogaine significantly reduced pressing even after the first administration. Neither drug significantly altered cue-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking, though psilocybin showed a trend toward attenuation. The treatments had no side effects on general locomotor activity or anxiety-like behavior in the open field test. These results suggest psilocybin and ibogaine may support extinction learning and possibly protect against relapse, warranting further research into their antiaddictive potential.