Magic Mushroom

Psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms, mushrooms or shrooms, are a polyphyletic, informal group of fungi that contain psilocybin which turns into psilocin upon ingestion.^[1][2] Biological genera containing psilocybin mushrooms include Copelandia, Gymnopilus, Inocybe, Panaeolus, Pholiotina, Pluteus, and Psilocybe. Psilocybin mushrooms have been and continue to be used in indigenous New World cultures in religious, divinatory, or spiritual contexts.^[3] Psilocybin mushrooms are also used as recreational drugs. They may be depicted in Stone Age rock art in Africa and Europe, but are most famously represented in the Pre-Columbian sculptures and glyphs seen throughout North, Central and South America.

Magic mushroom composition varies from genus to genus and species to species.^[24] Its principal component is psilocybin^[25] which gets converted into psilocin to produce psychoactive effect. Besides, psilocin, norpsilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin may also be present which can modify the effects of magic mushrooms.^[24] Panaeolus subbalteatus, one of magic mushroom, had highest amount of psilocybin compared to the rest of the fruiting body.^[24] Certain mushrooms are found to produce beta carbolines which inhibits monoamine oxidase, an enzyme which breaks down tryptamine alkaloids.^[26] They occur in different genera, like Psilocybe,^[27]Cyclocybe^[28] and Hygrophorus^[29] Harmine, harmane, norharmane and a range of other l-tryptophan-derived β-carbolines were discovered in Psilocybe species.