Lancashire (United Kingdom), psilocybin, a compound found in many types of mushrooms, is an antidepressant with potential use in the treatment of anxiety. Unfortunately, unscrupulous sellers have used these clinical results to sell products made from an unrelated and somewhat toxic fungus: Amanita muscaria.
In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, San Diego found a significant increase in interest in this mushroom, seeing a 114% increase in Google searches from 2022 to 2023.
So what is this fungus and why is it of concern? A muscaria or "fly agaric" is found in the temperate and subarctic zones of the northern hemisphere. For millennia, shamans from various regions – from Lapland to Siberia – have used the mushroom in their rituals, helping them achieve a state of mind similar to that achieved with other psychedelics.
The active ingredients in these mushrooms are muscimol and ibotenic acid, which are completely different compounds than psilocybin. Today, products containing muscimol, such as gummies, tinctures, and capsules, are sold with vague promises of better health.
The brain contains chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, and muscimol acts on one of these transmitter “receptors” (Gaba-A) to dampen brain activity. Gaba is the brain's brakes or, in slang, “inhibitory neurotransmitter.” Consequently, drugs that act on Gaba-A receptors have been used for anxiety, epilepsy and pain, conditions associated with an overstimulated brain. Muscimol can be considered to have a similar effect to anxiolytics known as benzodiazepines ( Valium, for example).
There have been relatively few reported cases of muscimol poisoning from fly agaric mushrooms. Most cases report gastrointestinal upset, but not death.
The other compound found in fly agaric, ibotenic acid, is structurally similar to the neurotransmitter glutamate. If Gaba is the brain's brake, you can think of glutamate as its accelerator. Like glutamate, ibotenic acid can be toxic at high concentrations. In fact, ibotenic acid is used to kill brain cells in rodent experiments in which small parts of the brain are destroyed in an attempt to understand what that area of the brain does.
It is very unlikely that ibotenic acid has any health benefits. However, it is doubtful that consumption of these mushrooms kills brain cells because, approximately one hour after ingestion, most of the ibotenic acid is excreted in the urine.
Muscimol and ibotenic acid have been found to have a relatively low lethal dose. Tests in mice found that the LD50 (“lethal dose, 50%),” where half of the mice die when given these substances orally, is 22 mg and 38 mg per kilogram of body weight, respectively. The LD50 is much lower than that of many other commonly consumed substances: cocaine (99 mg/kg), morphine (524 mg/kg) and ethanol (alcohol, 3,450 mg/kg). Although few deaths from fly agaric, a recent case described the death of a 44-year-old man after eating these mushrooms. The man suffered a heart attack about ten hours after eating four to five heads of mushrooms. Although he was resuscitated, he remained unconscious and died nine days later.
Comparison with psilocybin
Psilocybin is a compound found in a wide variety of “magic mushrooms,” but not in fly agaric. After consumption, the body converts psilocybin to psilocin. Psilocin activates the 5-HT2A receptors of the neurotransmitter serotonin in a similar way to LSD. Meta-analyses, which combine and reanalyze data from multiple clinical trials, find psilocybin to be an effective antidepressant. The harms of therapeutic doses of psilocybin have been reviewed and the most common are headache, nausea, anxiety, dizziness and high blood pressure. They are usually well tolerated and disappear in a couple of days.
Taken together, we can see that the fly agaric is nothing like psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
While psilocybin has now been shown to have good clinical use, there is no such evidence for fly agaric. Although muscimol has been shown to have some positive effects in animal studies on stroke and some other neurological diseases, these findings have not yet been replicated in humans. In most countries, fly agaric, muscimol and Ibotenic acid are not controlled substances and people can grow them, collect them, buy them, sell them, and consume them. Although consumption is rarely fatal, there are dangers associated with its consumption. The practice of selling these products to unwitting consumers, who anticipate health benefits similar to those of psilocybin, needs to be addressed. (The conversation) SCY
SCY
In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, San Diego found a significant increase in interest in this mushroom, seeing a 114% increase in Google searches from 2022 to 2023.
So what is this fungus and why is it of concern? A muscaria or "fly agaric" is found in the temperate and subarctic zones of the northern hemisphere. For millennia, shamans from various regions – from Lapland to Siberia – have used the mushroom in their rituals, helping them achieve a state of mind similar to that achieved with other psychedelics.
The active ingredients in these mushrooms are muscimol and ibotenic acid, which are completely different compounds than psilocybin. Today, products containing muscimol, such as gummies, tinctures, and capsules, are sold with vague promises of better health.
The brain contains chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, and muscimol acts on one of these transmitter “receptors” (Gaba-A) to dampen brain activity. Gaba is the brain's brakes or, in slang, “inhibitory neurotransmitter.” Consequently, drugs that act on Gaba-A receptors have been used for anxiety, epilepsy and pain, conditions associated with an overstimulated brain. Muscimol can be considered to have a similar effect to anxiolytics known as benzodiazepines ( Valium, for example).
There have been relatively few reported cases of muscimol poisoning from fly agaric mushrooms. Most cases report gastrointestinal upset, but not death.
The other compound found in fly agaric, ibotenic acid, is structurally similar to the neurotransmitter glutamate. If Gaba is the brain's brake, you can think of glutamate as its accelerator. Like glutamate, ibotenic acid can be toxic at high concentrations. In fact, ibotenic acid is used to kill brain cells in rodent experiments in which small parts of the brain are destroyed in an attempt to understand what that area of the brain does.
It is very unlikely that ibotenic acid has any health benefits. However, it is doubtful that consumption of these mushrooms kills brain cells because, approximately one hour after ingestion, most of the ibotenic acid is excreted in the urine.
Muscimol and ibotenic acid have been found to have a relatively low lethal dose. Tests in mice found that the LD50 (“lethal dose, 50%),” where half of the mice die when given these substances orally, is 22 mg and 38 mg per kilogram of body weight, respectively. The LD50 is much lower than that of many other commonly consumed substances: cocaine (99 mg/kg), morphine (524 mg/kg) and ethanol (alcohol, 3,450 mg/kg). Although few deaths from fly agaric, a recent case described the death of a 44-year-old man after eating these mushrooms. The man suffered a heart attack about ten hours after eating four to five heads of mushrooms. Although he was resuscitated, he remained unconscious and died nine days later.
Comparison with psilocybin
Psilocybin is a compound found in a wide variety of “magic mushrooms,” but not in fly agaric. After consumption, the body converts psilocybin to psilocin. Psilocin activates the 5-HT2A receptors of the neurotransmitter serotonin in a similar way to LSD. Meta-analyses, which combine and reanalyze data from multiple clinical trials, find psilocybin to be an effective antidepressant. The harms of therapeutic doses of psilocybin have been reviewed and the most common are headache, nausea, anxiety, dizziness and high blood pressure. They are usually well tolerated and disappear in a couple of days.
Taken together, we can see that the fly agaric is nothing like psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
While psilocybin has now been shown to have good clinical use, there is no such evidence for fly agaric. Although muscimol has been shown to have some positive effects in animal studies on stroke and some other neurological diseases, these findings have not yet been replicated in humans. In most countries, fly agaric, muscimol and Ibotenic acid are not controlled substances and people can grow them, collect them, buy them, sell them, and consume them. Although consumption is rarely fatal, there are dangers associated with its consumption. The practice of selling these products to unwitting consumers, who anticipate health benefits similar to those of psilocybin, needs to be addressed. (The conversation) SCY
SCY
