Variation of psilocybin and psilocin levels with repeated flushes (harvests) of mature sporocarps of Psilocybe cubensis (earle) singer

In controlled cultures of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, psilocin levels were generally zero in the first or second fruiting flush and reached a maximum by the fourth flush. Psilocybin levels were nearly always at least twice those of psilocin, showed no consistent trend across flushes, but varied up to fourfold. Mushroom samples from outside sources had psilocybin levels varying more than tenfold between collections.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Analysis of Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer grown in controlled culture showed that the level of psilocin was generally zero in the first (or sometimes even the second) fruiting of the mushroom from a given culture and that the level reached a maximum by the fourth flush. The level of psilocybin, which was nearly always at least twice the level of psilocin, showed no upward or downward trend as fruiting progressed, but was variable over a factor of four. Samples obtained from outside sources had psilocybin levels varying by over a factor of ten from one collection to the next.