PSILOCIN

Description

Psilocin, also called N,N-dimethyl-4-hydroxytryptamine, is a psychoactive substance that was first isolated in 1958 by Albert Hofmann and co-workers at Sandoz (Basel, Switzerland; now part of Novartis) from the psychedelic mushroom Psilocybe mexicana. The Hofmann group elucidated the structure of the molecule and synthesized it the same year.
Psilocybin, the Molecule of the Week for October 2, 2017, is the monophosphate ester of psilocin; it is more abundant in mushrooms than the parent compound. The tryptamine derivatives were concurrently isolated and synthesized.
In 1966, the United States passed laws that prohibited the production, trade, and ingestion of hallucinogenic drugs, including psilocin and psilocybin. Five years later, the United Nations listed them as Schedule I drugs1 under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Some countries, however, allow them to be used for religious purposes or in medical research.
In light of ongoing research on the use of psychedelics to treat neuropsychiatric disorders, David E. Olson, Pamela J. Lein, and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, sought to develop a screening method for determining the neurotoxicity of 13 such compounds, including psilocin and psilocybin. This past February, they described a study in which larval zebrafish were exposed to the drugs at various concentrations and observed teratological and behavioral abnormalities in the fish.
The researchers found that the tryptamines were less neurotoxic to zebrafish than LSD and psychostimulants (e.g., amphetamines). They concluded that their screening method could generate a robust database for rapidly quantifying neurotoxicity in psychedelics being developed as therapeutics.
For more information on psilocin and psilocybin, see the ScienceDirect topics page.
1. Drugs with a high potential for abuse.

The Uses of PSILOCIN

The minor hallucinogenic component of the Teonanacatl mushroom. Psilocin is the 4-hydroxy analog of Psilocybin, formed by metabolic dephosphorylation of Psilocybin and is an active neurochemical. Psychomimetic. Controlled substance (hallucinogen).

Definition

An indole derivative. An alkaloid from certain mush- rooms; a hallucinogenic drug.