Abstract
This chapter aims to address the question of whether there is a clinically relevant difference between natural and synthetic psilocybin. Examining the history of when psilocybin was first researched in the late 1950s revealed that both synthetic and natural compounds were explored but lost momentum with the declaration of the war on drugs in 1971. The past few years have shown a significant rise of research interest in psilocybin in the mental health field. Due to the current regulations and market capitalization, the industry relies on an investment strategy aligned with the traditional pharmaceutical model. Interestingly, there is a long history of popular natural medicines being produced by pharmaceutical companies, and a number of natural products are currently being used in mental health. Research on natural psilocybin, including the phenomenon of the entourage effect, as well as the factors and considerations for future research on natural and synthetic psilocybin, are discussed. Comparing the natural psilocybin molecule to the synthetic psilocybin molecule should be fundamentally similar. Still, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) differs from other ingredients in the whole mushroom, and natural extracts may have synergistic effects.
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Abbreviations
- 5-HT2a:
-
5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) 2a receptor
- API:
-
Active pharmaceutical ingredient
- ATAI:
-
atai Life Sciences
- CAGR:
-
Compound annual growth rate
- CMPS:
-
Compass Pathways
- CYBN:
-
Cybin
- DEA:
-
United States Drug Enforcement Administration
- FDA:
-
Food and Drug Administration
- FTRP:
-
Field Trip Health
- LSD:
-
Lysergic acid diethylamide
- MAPS:
-
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
- NASDAQ:
-
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
- NIH:
-
National Institutes of Health
- NUMI:
-
Numinus Wellness
- NYU:
-
New York University
- PAT:
-
Psychedelic-assisted therapies
- PTSD:
-
Post-traumatic stress disorder
- SPRAVATO:
-
Esketamine nasal spray
- TSXV:
-
Toronto Stock Exchange Venture
- UCLA:
-
University of California, Los Angeles
- UCSF:
-
University of California, San Francisco
- USD:
-
United States dollar
- USFDA:
-
United States Food and Drug Administration
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Ali, A., Gifford, ME., Lowe, H., Gordon, L., Grant, J. (2023). Natural vs. Synthetic Psilocybin: The Same or Completely Different?. In: Agrawal, D.C., Dhanasekaran, M. (eds) Mushrooms with Therapeutic Potentials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9550-7_18
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