Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences
June 1, 2025
Natalie Paškanová, Magdaléna Vágnerová, Bronislav Jurásek et al.
1 citation
Methoxphenidine (MXP), a dissociative anaesthetic derivative, is increasingly abused, but forensic and clinical data on its metabolism and enantiomers are limited. Researchers developed and validated achiral LC-MS/MS and chiral SFC-MS methods to quantify MXP and its primary metabolite, O-desmethyl-methoxphenidine (dmMXP), in rat serum and brain after a single subcutaneous dose of racemic MXP. Serum MXP peaked at 1600 ng/mL at 0.5 hours and decreased to 5.87 ng/mL at 24 hours; brain MXP peaked at 13200 ng/g at 0.5 hours and fell to 36.1 ng/g at 24 hours. (S)-MXP concentrations in brain appeared higher than (R)-enantiomer concentrations. The methods enable pharmacokinetic studies and provide tools for forensic and clinical toxicology.
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.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 22, 2022
Camila Sanz, Federico Cavanna, Stephanie Müller et al.
1 citation
preprint
Low doses of psilocybin (microdoses) can be detected in natural speech. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, participants given 0.5 g of psilocybin mushrooms showed significant differences in verbosity and sentiment scores compared to placebo, though semantic variability did not differ. Machine learning classifiers using these speech metrics distinguished between the psilocybin and placebo conditions with high accuracy (AUC≈0.8). These findings suggest that unconstrained natural language may serve as a practical, low-cost tool for monitoring microdosing effects, addressing limitations of existing questionnaires designed for larger psychedelic doses.
Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
August 1, 2026
Magdaléna Vágnerová, Petr Palivec, Monika Mrňavá et al.
The metabolism of the recreational drug 25E-NBOH was investigated in human liver microsomes, rat urine, and Cunninghamella elegans fungus. Using untargeted LC-HRMS/MS, 56 metabolites were annotated, many as isomers. Primary metabolic pathways included hydroxylation, O-demethylation, and N-debenzylation, followed by conjugation. Ten reference substances were synthesized; seven matched detected metabolites by retention time and MS/MS spectra, enabling structural assignment. The known psychoactive substance 2C-E was confirmed as a metabolite. Three main biomarkers are proposed. This work provides the first comprehensive metabolic profile of 25E-NBOH, supporting future pharmacological and toxicological studies and aiding clinical diagnosis of intoxication.
Psychopharmacology
April 23, 2026
Stefani Kalli, Alina Davletova, Lenka Seillier et al.
Rats treated with phencyclidine (PCP) to model schizophrenia's negative symptoms showed reduced overall social interaction compared to controls, but the deficit was selective: some behaviors (e.g., Following) were impaired while others were not. A detailed analysis of 42 behaviors revealed that PCP-treated rats also displayed a persistent attentional bias toward the inanimate environment during both habituation and social exposure, suggesting their attention was displaced away from other rats. This multidimensional behavioral approach uncovers a more nuanced phenotype than simple total interaction time, indicating altered attentional allocation as a possible mechanism underlying social withdrawal in this model.
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.
Planta Medica
March 1, 2026
K Knížková, D Lovás, R Batelková et al.
The plant Tabernanthe iboga contains ibogaine, an alkaloid that helps treat addiction by easing withdrawal and reducing cravings. Because authentic T. iboga from Africa is scarce, other plants with potentially toxic alkaloids are sometimes substituted, leading to fatal overdoses. This study developed an HPLC-MS method to analyze 11 iboga alkaloids and their derivatives, testing different extraction solvents; ethyl acetate with ammonium hydroxide worked best. Real samples from ibogaine clinics were analyzed to assess quality control and risks. The method aims to distinguish T. iboga from plants that might be used to falsify it, improving safety.
Powder Diffraction
December 1, 2025
Analio Dugarte-Dugarte, Jacco van de Streek, Graciela Dı́az de Delgado et al.
The crystal structures of two arylcyclohexylamine derivatives, methoxmetamine hydrochloride (MMXE·HCl) and methoxetamine hydrochloride (MXE·HCl), were determined using laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data. Both compounds are known for anesthetic and sedative effects and have been used illicitly as recreational drugs. Structure determination was performed with DASH software and Rietveld refinements with TOPAS Academic, yielding monoclinic unit cells. For MMXE·HCl, the parameters were a = 15.0429(5) Å, b = 14.0721(5) Å, c = 6.5716(2) Å, β = 90.9864(14)°, V = 1,390.91(8) ų, with Z = 4 and space group P2₁/n. For MXE·HCl, the parameters were a = 8.7772(5) Å, b = 9.9528(7) Å, c = 8.5841(6) Å, β = 100.276(3)°, V = 737.
Research Square
February 22, 2024
Bettina Habelt, Dzmitry Afanasenkau, Cindy Schwarz et al.
Current treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) are often ineffective due to large variability in individual responses and high relapse rates. A precision medicine approach using biomarkers of prefrontal control mechanisms—which are severely disrupted in AUD, reducing inhibitory control and promoting compulsive behavior and relapse—may improve outcomes. In a rat model of alcohol addiction and relapse, a biocompatible neuroprosthesis measured prefrontal neural function during abstinence. Alcohol-dependent rats showed reduced amplitudes of P1N1 and N1P2 event-related potential components and attenuated event-related oscillatory activity. Treatment with psilocybin (a 5-HT2AR agonist) or LY379268 (an mGluR2 agonist) restored these impairments. Psilocybin also counteracted a dominance in higher beta frequencies indicative of hyperarousal prone to relapse. These findings identify prefrontal markers of relapse and treatment response, particularly for psychedelic drugs.