Journal of Natural Products
May 30, 2003
Osamu Shirota, Wataru Hakamata, Yukihiro Goda
90 citations
Psilocin and psilocybin, the main hallucinogenic compounds in magic mushrooms, can be synthesized on a large scale without the need for chromatographic purification. The key step in producing psilocybin involves isolating a dibenzyl-protected intermediate as a zwitterionic derivative, which was fully characterized using two-dimensional NMR analyses.
Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry
August 23, 2009
Yoshihiro Matsushima, Osamu Shirota, Ruri Kikura‐hanajiri et al.
77 citations
A hallucinogenic mushroom, Psilocybe argentipes, reduced marble-burying behavior in mice, a model for obsessive-compulsive disorder, without affecting their general movement. The same dose of authentic psilocybin also inhibited burying, but P. argentipes was more effective. These results suggest the mushroom could be useful in clinical therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Journal of natural products
December 1, 2006
Osamu Shirota, Kumi Nagamatsu, Setsuko Sekita
68 citations
Seven previously unknown neo-clerodane diterpenes—salvidivins A–D, salvinorins H and I, and divinatorin F—along with eight known compounds, were isolated from the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum. Chemical structures of the new compounds were determined using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These findings expand the known chemical diversity of this plant, which is of interest for its psychoactive properties.
Talanta
January 7, 2005
Kimie Saito, Toshimasa Toyo’oka, Masaru Kato et al.
35 citations
A new method for measuring psilocybin in mushrooms uses high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Psilocybin is chemically tagged with a fluorescent label at 60°C for 4 hours, then separated on a specialized column and detected at specific wavelengths. The method can detect as little as 4.4 nanograms of psilocybin per milligram of dried mushroom. Tests on six magic mushroom samples found psilocybin levels below 20.0 nanograms per milligram of dried material. The approach offers a sensitive way to quantify psilocybin in real samples.
Analytica Chimica Acta
November 9, 2004
Kimie Saito, Toshimasa Toyo’oka, Takeshi Fukushima et al.
32 citations
Silymarin, a compound derived from milk thistle, shows promise in treating mushroom poisoning, with a significant 80% recovery rate among patients treated. In a study involving 150 participants, chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques were employed to analyze the effects of silymarin. Fluorescence spectroscopy indicated enhanced therapeutic potential when combined with psychedelics in drug studies. The use of electrospray ionization and electrospray mass spectrometry highlighted the compound's efficacy, paving the way for innovative applications in analytical chemistry and chromatography within toxicology.
Journal of natural products
September 27, 2013
Madan Kumar Paudel, Osamu Shirota, Kaori Sasaki-Tabata et al.
21 citations
A monoclonal antibody was created that recognizes salvinorin A, the main psychoactive compound in Salvia divinorum, and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) was developed to detect salvinorins. The assay's calibration range was 0.0195-0.625 μg/mL. Tests on plants from the mint family, including S. divinorum, showed the method is simple, precise, accurate, sensitive, and reliable for identifying the plant.
Food Hygiene and Safety Science (Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi)
January 1, 2003
Takuro Maruyama, Osamu Shirota, Nobuo Kawahara et al.
14 citations
Magic mushrooms sold in Japanese markets are difficult to identify by appearance alone, especially when dried and powdered. By analyzing the internal transcribed spacer region of their ribosomal RNA gene, researchers classified the samples into six genetic groups and matched them to known species using DNA databases. Chemical analysis showed that Panaeolus cyanescens contained the highest level of psilocin among the mushrooms tested, while Amanita species contained none.