The determination of psilocin and psilocybin in hallucinogenic mushrooms by HPLC utilizing a dual reagent acidic potassium permanganate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection system

A journey with psychedelic mushrooms: From historical relevance to biology, cultivation, medicinal uses, biotechnology, and beyond

Psychedelic mushrooms containing psilocybin and related tryptamines have long been used for ethnomycological purposes, but emerging evidence points to the potential therapeutic value of these mushrooms to address modern neurological, psychiatric health, and related disorders. As a result, psilocybin containing mushrooms represent a re-emerging frontier for mycological, biochemical, neuroscience, and pharmacology research. This work presents crucial information related to traditional use of psychedelic mushrooms, as well as research trends and knowledge gaps related to their diversity and distribution, technologies for quantification of tryptamines and other tryptophan-derived metabolites, as well as biosynthetic mechanisms for their production within mushrooms. In addition, we explore the current state of knowledge for how psilocybin and related tryptamines are metabolized in humans and their pharmacological effects, including beneficial and hazardous human health implications. Finally, we describe opportunities and challenges for investigating the production of psychedelic mushrooms and metabolic engineering approaches to alter secondary metabolite profiles using biotechnology integrated with machine learning. Ultimately, this critical review of all aspects related to psychedelic mushrooms represents a roadmap for future research efforts that will pave the way to new applications and refined protocols.

Matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization-mass spectrometric imaging of psilocybin and its analogues in psychedelic mushrooms using a cesium chloride-coated target plate

Fungi with hallucinogenic properties and neurotoxicity have been listed as prohibited drugs in recent years, but there is a lack of in situ quantification of psilocybin and analogues in these samples to avoid the decomposition of these psychoactive tryptamines in time-consuming sample preparation. In this study, matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization (MALDI)-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT ICR) mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) was used to analyze the distribution of psilocybin and its analogues in hallucinogenic Psilocybe mushrooms. A cesium chloride (CsCl)-coated target plate was prepared to improve the detection sensitivity and reduce the interference of other compounds or decomposition products with very similar m/z values in MALDI-FT ICR MS analysis. Psilocybin and other tryptamines with structurally similar compounds, including psilocin, baeocystin, tryptophan, tryptamine, and aeruginascin, were identified and imaged in the psilocybe tissue section; the semiquantitative analysis of the distribution of psilocybin was also investigated using a homemade 75-well CsCl-coated plate; and the target plate can be placed on the mass spectrometry target carrier along with the indium-tin oxide (ITO) conductive slide, which can simultaneously carry out matrix vapor deposition, thus ensuring the parallelism between the standards and samples in the pretreatment experiment and MSI. The contents of psilocybin and its analogues in the psilocybe tissue section can be evaluated from the color changes corresponding to different concentration standard curves. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison between MALDI-FT ICR MS and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF MS) analysis was performed for quantification and validation. This study reduces the decomposition in time-consuming sample pretreatment and provides a powerful tool for drug abuse control and forensic analysis.

Multi-locus identification of Psilocybe cubensis by high-resolution melting (HRM)

Hallucinogenic mushroom is a kind of toxic strain containing psychoactive tryptamine substances such as psilocybin, psilocin and ibotenic acid, etc. The mushrooms containing hallucinogenic components are various, widely distributed and lack of standard to define, which made a great challenge to identification. Traditional identification methods, such as morphology and toxicology analysis, showed shortcomings in old or processed samples, while the DNA-based identification of hallucinogenic mushrooms would allow to identify these samples due to the stability of DNA. In this paper, four primer sets are designed to target Psilocybe cubensis DNA for increasing resolution of present identification method, and the target markers include largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (marked as PC-R1), psilocybin-related phosphotransferase gene (marked as PC-PT), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (marked as PC-3) and translation EF1α (marked as PC-EF). Real-time PCR with high-resolution melting (HRM) assay were used for the differentiation of the fragments amplified by these primer sets, which were tested for specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, mixture analysis and multiplex PCR. It was shown that the melting temperatures of PC-R1, PC-PT, PC-3 and PC-EF of P. cubensis were (87.93 ± 0.12) °C, (82.21 ± 0.14) °C, (79.72 ± 0.12) °C and (80.11 ± 0.19) °C in our kinds of independent experiments. Significant HRM characteristic can be shown with a low concentration of 62.5 pg/µL DNA sample, and P. cubensis could be detected in mixtures with Homo sapiens or Cannabis sativa. In summary, the method of HRM analysis can quickly and specifically distinguish P. cubensis from other species, which could be utilized for forensic science, medical diagnosis and drug trafficking cases.

Supplemental data for this article are available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/20961790.2021.1875580.

A Forensic Detection Method for Hallucinogenic Mushrooms via High-Resolution Melting (HRM) Analysis

In recent years, trafficking and abuse of hallucinogenic mushrooms have become a serious social problem. It is therefore imperative to identify hallucinogenic mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe for national drug control legislation. An internal transcribed spacer (ITS) is a DNA barcoding tool utilized for species identification. Many methods have been used to discriminate the ITS region, but they are often limited by having a low resolution. In this study, we sought to analyze the ITS and its fragments, ITS1 and ITS2, by using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis, which is a rapid and sensitive method for evaluating sequence variation within PCR amplicons. The ITS HRM assay was tested for specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, and the capacity to analyze mixture samples. It was shown that the melting temperatures of the ITS, ITS1, and ITS2 of Psilocybe cubensis were 83.72 ± 0.01, 80.98 ± 0.06, and 83.46 ± 0.08 °C, and for other species, we also obtained species-specific results. Finally, we performed ITS sequencing to validate the presumptive taxonomic identity of our samples, and the sequencing output significantly supported our HRM data. Taken together, these results indicate that the HRM method can quickly distinguish the DNA barcoding of Psilocybe cubensis and other fungi, which can be utilized for drug trafficking cases and forensic science.

The Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) Case: Ensuring the Correct Isomer has Been Identified

Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 4-HO-DMT) and bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, 5-HO-DMT), which are both naturally occurring compounds, are classified as controlled substances in numerous countries due to their pharmacological activities and recreational usage. There are two other benzene ring regioisomers, 6-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (6-HO-DMT) and 7-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (7-HO-DMT), which are not classified by name as controlled substances, and which were synthesized for this current work. The four isomers were analyzed using routine methodologies employed by the Israel's Police Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS) Laboratory, namely thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). It was found possible to differentiate the four isomers. Forensic specimens that were suspected to be psilocybe mushrooms were examined, confirming that it is now possible to unequivocally identify the presence of psilocin and rule out the presence of its other isomers.

Challenges in Laboratory Detection of Unusual Substance Abuse: Issues with Magic Mushroom, Peyote Cactus, Khat, and Solvent Abuse

Drug abuse is a worldwide problem. Although commonly abused drugs can be identified during routine urine drug testing, less commonly abused drugs may escape detection. These less commonly abused drugs not only include some designer drugs such as synthetic cannabinoid but also include abuse of psychedelic magic mushroom (active ingredients: psilocybin and psilocin), peyote cactus (active ingredient: mescaline), and khat plants (active ingredient: cathinone). Moreover, solvent and glue abuse is gaining popularity among teenagers and young adults which may even cause fatality. Amphetamine/methamphetamine immunoassay has a low cross-reactivity with psilocin. Cathinone, if present in the urine, can be detected by amphetamine/methamphetamine immunoassay due to cross-reactivity of cathinone with assay antibody. Currently there is one commercially available immunoassay which is capable of detecting synthetic cathinone known as bath salts as well as mescaline. However, gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry as well as liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS)-based method is available for confirmation of the active ingredients present in magic mushroom, peyote cactus, and khat plant. Such chromatography-based methods also offer more sensitivity and specificity compared to an immunoassay.

Chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence detection of controlled drugs

We review the determination of various controlled drugs (opioids, tranquilizers, stimulants, and hallucinogens) using flow-analysis methodologies (flow injection analysis, high performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and microfluidic devices) with chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence reagents such as luminol, diaryloxalates, tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II), permanganate, manganese(IV), and sulfite, for industrial, clinical, pharmaceutical, and forensic science applications.

Acidic potassium permanganate as a chemiluminescence reagent—A review

A critical and comprehensive review of acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence is presented. This includes discussion on reaction conditions, the influence of enhancers such as polyphosphates, formaldehyde and sulfite, the relationship between analyte structure and chemiluminescence intensity, and the application of this chemistry to determine a wide variety of compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, biomolecules, antioxidants, illicit drugs, pesticides and pollutants. Previous proposals for the nature of the emitting species are re-evaluated in light of recent evidence.