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Determination of Tryptamine Alkaloids and Their Stability in Psychotropic Mushrooms

Summary

Researchers analyzed the active compounds found in psychotropic mushrooms used for therapy and microdosing. They found that the amounts of these compounds vary greatly between mushroom samples and can degrade during storage. Fresh mushrooms stored in freezers degraded faster than dried mushrooms kept at room temperature in the dark, suggesting proper storage is important for maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.

Background

Psilocybin and psilocybin-containing mushrooms are being used for psychedelic therapy and microdosing applications. Understanding the variability and stability of alkaloids in wild-grown mushrooms is critical for therapeutic applications.

Objective

This study aims to determine the concentrations of psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin in a large sample set of psychotropic mushroom genera and to monitor the stability of these alkaloids under various storage and processing conditions.

Results

Tryptamine concentrations in mushrooms showed extreme variability. Storage conditions significantly affected alkaloid decay, with the highest degradation in fresh mushrooms stored at −80°C and the lowest decay in dried biomass stored in the dark at room temperature.

Conclusion

The high variability in tryptamine concentrations across mushroom samples could influence medicinal efficacy compared to chemically pure psilocybin therapy. Proper storage conditions, particularly drying and room temperature dark storage, are critical for preserving alkaloid content.
  • Published in:International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology,
  • Study Type:Analytical Study,
  • Source: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae059.260
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