Biotechnology and Bioengineering
June 20, 2023
Jessica E Flower, William J Gibbons, Alexandra M Adams et al.
26 citations
Bacterial production of psilocybin and 13 related compounds was achieved by adding the enzyme PsiH to the existing biosynthesis pathway. Testing 49 different indole derivatives revealed that the pathway enzymes accept many substrates, enabling the creation of a library of new drug candidates for mental health treatment.
Psychiatry research
January 1, 2024
Wei Liu, Jing Yuan, Yun Wu et al.
19 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) reduced depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and inflammatory markers (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) while increasing mindfulness, self-compassion, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in college students with major depressive disorder, compared with a wait-list group. Greater daily practice time and more session attendance were linked to larger reductions in depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. Completers showed significantly greater improvement than partial attendees, indicating a dose-response effect.
Forensic Toxicology
February 2, 2021
Liying Zhou, Ping Xiang, Di Wen et al.
13 citations
A highly sensitive method for measuring psilocin and psilocybin in hair samples from magic mushroom users was developed using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The technique achieved a detection limit of 1 pg/mg and a quantification limit of 5 pg/mg, with linear calibration from 5 to 500 pg/mg. In two authentic hair samples, psilocin concentrations were 161 and 150 pg/mg, while psilocybin was not detected. The method also analyzed psilocin and psilocybin distribution in seven hallucinogenic mushrooms. This represents the first measurement of psilocin in hair from hallucinogenic mushroom consumers and the most sensitive quantitative method for these compounds in hair.
Metabolic engineering
April 16, 2025
Madeleine R Keller, Madeline G McKinney, Abhishek K Sen et al.
8 citations
Psilocybin, the prodrug to the psychoactive compound in 'magic' mushrooms, is being studied as a treatment for depression and anxiety. Previous biosynthesis in E. coli using genes from Psilocybe cubensis achieved maximum titers of 1.16 g/L. This work tested genes from four psilocybin-producing mushroom species and found that psiD and psiK from P. cubensis performed best, while psiM from Psilocybe cyanescens increased selectivity for the intermediate baeocystin. The strain Gymdi30, with psiM from Gymnopilus dilepis, produced 1.46 ± 0.13 g/L psilocybin, the highest reported titer to date. Comparative proteomic analysis during high and low productivity identified metabolic bottlenecks. This represents a significant improvement toward a biosynthetic manufacturing route for psilocybin.
Biotechnology Progress
June 18, 2024
Xin Wang, Fiona C. Kanis, Caroline N. Broude et al.
2 citations
N-methylated tryptamines like psilocybin and DMT show promise as treatments for mental health disorders, driving interest in biosynthetic production. This work characterized two enzymes from tryptamine biosynthesis: TrpM, a tryptophan N-methyltransferase from Psilocybe serbica, and PsiD, a decarboxylase from the psilocybin pathway. TrpM was able to N-methylate 4-hydroxytryptophan, a non-native amino acid. However, incorporating TrpM into a functional psilocybin pathway was blocked because PsiD could not use N,N-dimethyl-4-hydroxytryptophan as a substrate under the tested conditions, despite acting on N-methylated and 4-hydroxylated tryptophan derivatives separately. These findings expand the known substrates for TrpM and PsiD, increasing the diversity of tryptamine biosynthetic products.
Forensic science international
March 1, 2023
Jiaming Zheng, Xin Wang, Jiali Zhang et al.
1 citation
A new LC-MS/MS method was developed to simultaneously extract LSD, iso-LSD, 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD, and 1-propionyl-LSD from hair samples. The method was applied to hair from 18 suspected LSD users. Segmental hair analysis showed LSD concentrations decreasing from the proximal to the distal end, while 1 P-LSD was not detected in any hair segments. The authors report concentrations of LSD and iso-LSD in human hair from 18 LSD users, but note that interpreting hair analysis results for LSD remains difficult.
Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
August 15, 2025
Zhen Zhang, Yan Shi, Meiting Lin et al.
A UHPLC-MS/MS method was developed to separate and measure the two mirror-image forms (enantiomers) of ketamine in human urine and hair. After a deceased person used esketamine before death, only S-ketamine appeared in blood and urine, indicating that ketamine does not switch between its enantiomeric forms in the body. In 45 hair samples from ketamine abusers, the ratio of R-ketamine to S-ketamine ranged from 0.809 to 1.43, showing that illegal-market ketamine is mostly racemic (equal parts both enantiomers). A significant difference in this ratio was found between samples from China and Myanmar, likely due to regional variations in synthetic routes.
Midwifery
July 15, 2025
Xin Wang, Ying Luo, Ying Gao et al.
A meta-analysis of ten randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness-based interventions significantly improve depression in women who have experienced fetal loss, with a large effect size. The interventions were effective for anxiety only in women without pre-existing anxiety symptoms. Improvements in post-traumatic growth were seen only with short-duration interventions (less than four weeks). The analysis notes that few high-quality trials exist, sample sizes are small, and long-term follow-up is lacking. The findings support integrating mindfulness-based interventions into psychosocial care, especially for women with prior psychological symptoms, and indicate a need for refined intervention strategies.