When testing psilocybin mushrooms, the research involves quite a bit of magic

Based on a single prodrug and its hallucinogen, the potency of a psychedelic mushroom is compromised for a variety of reasons. Labs have a lot more work to do besides psilocybin and psilocin as they examine vast amounts of chemical, therapeutic and toxicological data after testing mushrooms.

A previous story documented other psychedelics related to psilocin, and don’t forget the terpenes found in fresh mushrooms. However, psychedelic research exemptions are a world first. Eric Janusson, Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, is a senior chemist at Delic Labs. His tone of excitement as he touches numerous unknowns in the vast field of psychedelic research,

We’re looking at the entire suite. I always say fear and loathing in Las Vegas, the trunk of their car – that’s what we analyze. We don’t know what we’re looking for other than the obvious analogues. But there is still a lot to discover in the [mushroom].

DR Janusson
The Full Suite of Tryptamine Compounds in Psychedelic Mushrooms with DMT and Melatonin.

Delic Labs is currently a third fixated on the accurate analysis of psilocybin when testing shrooms. This is what their CSO and President, Dr. Markus Rye. He basically divided their approach into three phases, and the precise quantification of the main components is the first. To take the first step, Delic Labs first had to improve the chromatography and extraction to be able to analyze these ingredients.

Everyone right now wants to know how much psilocybin and psilocin is in the mushroom. That, [Delic Labs] can, that’s the paper we published (1), and we’re constantly improving our methods. And we add [the full suite] from other connections to our analytical skills.

dr Rye.

Another psychedelic research lab, also on the west coast of Canada, is also engaged in similar areas of psilocybin mushroom testing. Numinus uses state-of-the-art equipment to analyze the full range of psilocybin analogs such as: B. Triple quad mass spectrometer. An email response from Sharan Sidhu, Science Officer and General Manager at Numinus, confirmed their tests contained 4-hydroxytryptamine. But this kind of targeted analysis is still missing a step.

Stack sixteen high-resolution mass spectrometers in a row and labs still can’t scan the fruiting body of an intact mushroom and expect accurate results. This is because compounds must be separated and isolated to gain insights from mass spectrometry data. Unfortunately, for decades, psilocybin was accidentally converted to psilocin and then destroyed during the crucial separation process known as chromatography. As such, labs have previously been quite imprecise when testing shrooms for psilocybin content before recently switching to extraction. (1) With better extraction and chromatography methods, for example, scientists can say which is really more effective: caps or stems.

The HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) is shown schematically in the figure. A substance or fungus is dissolved in a solvent and then drawn through a column filled with filter media. Until recently, however, poor buffers and reagents would convert or simply destroy a psilocybin sample before it got to a detector – such as a mass spectrometer. (2)

Exploring unknown chemistry – other mushrooms are magical too

The second step in testing is the random analysis of fungi, which Dr. Janusson’s enthusiasm peaks.

We want to look at everything, the whole [fungi], and try to characterize it as best as you can, as there is still a lot to explore. And developing analytical workflows to tell us more precisely about the fungus is a big part of our focus right now.

DR Janusson

We want to find out what else the fungus is… random analysis. So [Delic Labs] uses functional fungi as a test platform for this because they have their own set of interesting compounds. We can then find out if the same compounds are found in psychedelic mushrooms, so translate and marry these worlds. Much like in the cannabis world, everyone is talking about synergistic effects, but no one has really looked for anything other than THC and CBD.

dr rye

Fruitful psychedelic research beyond mushrooms

dr Markus Roggen described other important therapeutics in this field as the next saga of Delic Lab’s research.

As a third area, psilocybin is a psychedelic compound. So if we’re going to touch the psychedelics, let’s keep touching the psychedelics. And there, let’s look at other compounds that aren’t found in the mushrooms themselves, but are psychedelic in their own right.

dr rye

However, despite a request to study DMT, LSD, and other psychedelics, chemists at Delic Labs dismissed the idea of ​​synthetic psilocybin. After all, science has a lot more work to do before modifying these magical molecules. Or maybe this simply reflects the founder of Delic Labs, Dr. Markus Roggen, who works in the field of organic chemistry. Yes, lysergic acid and modified psilocybin can each come from organic mushrooms, but it’s also true that psychedelic science is a monumental task.

Discovery of a new molecule – the current role of plastics

Psychedelic research labs sometimes rely on reference standards synthesized from modified psilocybin. An example is the acetylated 4-ACO-DMT, which can be used to synthesize standards of a rare relative of psilocybin known as 4-HO-TMT. (2) Instead of consuming strange molecules, however, synthetic copies are better suited for clinical research or the discovery of substances in nature for the first time.

Back to the first and second step: Numinus recently identified 4-HO-TMT in psychedelic mushrooms. According to Sidhu, this was achieved using HRMS (High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry). Essentially, this molecule has an extra set of atoms compared to psilocin, but is more related to aeruginascin – an analog found in a few strains. Finally, Sharan Sidhu confirmed that metabolism sits alongside toxicology in Numinus’ 2022 mushroom testing plans.

Does it appear that synthetic and organic chemists need to combine their research for psychedelic science to truly flourish? And let us know in the comments if you look forward to any new research in this psychedelic area.

sources

• Wright S, Malcolm A, Wright C, O’Prey S, Crichton E, Dash N, Moseley RW, Zaczek W, Edwards P, Fussell RJ, & Syms, RR (2015). A miniature triple quadrupole mass spectrometer suitable for microelectromechanical systems. Analytical Chemistry, 87(6), 3115-3122. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b00311Hatakeyama, Shiro & Akatsuka, T.. (2014). Measurements of gaseous peroxides in the oceanic lower atmosphere.

1. Samuelsson, Alexzander & Janusson, Eric & Shah, Sajni & Roggen, Markus. (2021). Rapid quantification of psilocybin using reversed-phase HPLC and single-wavelength detection. 10.33774/chemrxiv-2021-70mm1.
2. Chadeayne AR, Pham D, Reid BG, Golen JA, & Manke DR (2020). Active metabolite of aeruginascin (4-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine): synthesis, structure, and serotonergic binding affinity. ACS Omega, 5(27), 16940-16943. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c02208