Comprehensive analysis of 42 psilocybin-producing fungal strains reveals metabolite diversity and species-specific clusters.
Scientific reports April 22, 2025 Jonathan Cohen, Liron Sulimani, Shiri Procaccia et al. 4 citations
Psilocybin-producing fungi contain many less-studied metabolites beyond psilocybin, but most research treats them as a single group. By optimizing extraction and analysis methods, the metabolomes of 42 distinct fungal strains across 9 species were examined, revealing broad diversity within and between species. Optimal extraction of fruiting bodies used a 1:20 tissue-to-solvent ratio with 25:75 water:methanol at pH 9 for 1.5 hours, enabling quantification of 8 tryptophan-derived indolamines by HPLC-DAD and identification of putative hydroxypsilocybin by HPLC-MS/MS. A method mimicking in vivo dephosphorylation for in vitro setups was also developed. The work provides a standardized approach for studying these fungi and highlights their pharmaceutical potential.