Comparison of psilocin with psilocybin, mescaline and LSD-25

✍ Scribed by A. B. Wolbach; E. J. Miner; Harris Isbell

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1962
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 275 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0033-3158
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00412109

✦ Synopsis

In the course of isolation of psilocybin (4-4-Phosphoryl-N: N-dimethyltryptamine) from the mushroom, psilocybe Mexicana, I/OFM_r et al., (1958) noticed trace amounts of another substance, which they termed psflocin. Later I-Io~A~N and T~OXLEg (1959) identified psiloein as 4-ttydroxy-N :N-dimethyltryptamine, or dephosphorylated psiloeybin. These investigators mentioned that KIEL~OLZ and G~IRss of the University Psychiatric Clinic in Basel had administered psilocin to humans and found that its action was similar quantitatively and quail tatively to that of psilocybin. More recently tIOgtTA and WEBER (1961) found that psilocybin was rapidly dephosphorylated to psiloein by alkaline phosphatase in diverse tissues of various mammals, tIOnlTA and WE~Eg speculated on the possibility that psilocin was the active substance in psilocybin.

The purpose of the present communication is to show that the objective and subjective effects of psilocin in man are similar to those of psilocybin, mescaline, and LSD-25, and further to report that psilocin and psilocybin are equipotent on a molecular basis.