Jochen Gartz - Magic Mushrooms Around the ... - preterhuman.net

Biochemical precursor of psilocybin is found in
all fruiting bodies of the Psilocybe species. The
precursor has a hydrogen atom where
psilocybin's only CH 3 group is
located; the average baeocystin content
is 0.2% of dry weight. In 1967, Leung and Paul
reported the isolation of baeocystin from
fruiting bodies of Psilocybe baeocystis Singer &
Smith in North America. In 1977, Repke and
Leslie also found the substance in a Psilocybe
semilanceata sample from the same place of
origin.
Some investigators have found
differences in alkaloid content when comparing
single fruiting bodies from the same location.
TABLE 2
Alkaloid Content of Dried Mushrooms from a
Location in the Dubener Marshlands of
Eastern Germany (Selected Results)
Dry Weight (mg) Psilocybin (%) Baeocystin (%)
18 1.25 0.34
30 0.96 0.21
70 0.72 0.19
85 0.90 0.10
Smaller mushrooms almost always
contained more alkaloids than larger specimens.
This fording was then confirmed by another study
using considerably larger amount of investigative
materials (40 mushrooms). Moreover,
exceptionally high concentrations of baeocystin
have been shown to accumulate in the caps of
fruiting bodies that contain the alkaloid. In
addition, one mushroom sample from Finland
deserves special mention due to its unusually high
psilocybin content of 2.37%!
Early controlled studies of the
psychoactivity of various species in the former
Czechoslovakia concluded that Psilocybe
semilanceata is a more potently psychoactive
species than Psilocybe bohemica, even though
both species were found to contain the same
amounts of psilocybin. Thus, researchers
hypothesized that the mushrooms are likely to
contain additional substances that contribute to the
overall psychotropic effect. This hypothesis is
supported by the fact that considerable amounts of
baeocystin are consistently found in samples of
Psilocybe semilanceata. I am also aware of an
experiment whose results showed that 4 mg of
baeocystin caused mild hallucinations for three
hours, while 10 mg of baeocystin were found to be
about as psychoactive as a similar amount of
psilocybin.
The Long Shelflife of Psilocybin
As part of dried mushroom material,
psilocybin is a remarkably durable substance. A
sample of desiccated mushrooms dated 1869 from
a Finnish herbarium was still found to contain
0.014% of psilocybin. On the other hand, no
alkaloids were founds in another sample dated
1843. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to
determine the methods used in drying these
samples. Temperatures over 50°C cause psilocybin
to break down into its derivatives. In laboratory
settings, mushrooms are usually dried at room
temperatures. Sometimes, fruiting bodies are also
freeze-dried for analysis. Freeze-dried mushrooms,
however, have a highly porous texture that causes
the alkaloids to break down relatively quickly, if the
samples are stored at room temperature (20°C). For
that reason, freeze-dried samples for biochemical
analysis are stored at -10°C prior to alkaloid
extractions or chromatography testing. In addition
to the reports from Finland, investigators in North
America have noted that psilocybin's decay rate is
slowest in Psilocybe semilanceata, compared to
other species.
(1) R = H2P03
(2) R = H
CH3
CH3
Figure 19 - Structural formulas for
psilocybin (1) and psilocin (2).