Direct Quantitation of Psilocybin and Psilocin by 1H and 31P qNMR in Wild Psilocybe from Greece
4 affiliations
- 1National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) , , Panepistimioupolis Zografou , ,
- 2Hellenic Center for Entheogenic Research (ELKEEN), NPC , ,
- 3Hellenic Agricultural Organization “Demeter” , , Ilissia , ,
- 4University of the West Indies , , 6 Belmopan Close ,
Abstract
The genus Psilocybe (Basidiomycota) comprises over 300 mushroom-forming species, many of which produce the secondary metabolite psilocybin, a prodrug of its dephosphorylated active metabolite psilocin. Psilocybin has recently attracted significant interest, with numerous active, recruiting, and completed clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, primarily investigating its therapeutic potential in central nervous system disorders. Nonetheless, psilocybin remains a controlled substance in many jurisdictions, posing regulatory and legal challenges, not only for clinical research but also for forensic analysis, standardization, and quality control, since it is required as a reference material in chromatographic analyses. To this end, qNMR-based methods for rapid quantitation of psilocybin and psilocin were developed using wild-origin Psilocybe fruitbodies, preserved in the Dried Specimen Collection of the Mycetotheca ATHUM (NKUA). A dephosphorylation step was employed to convert psilocybin to psilocin, followed by GC-MS analysis, confirming its presence in mycelium of the isolated strains. Both native and dephosphorylated extracts were analyzed by 1H and 31P qNMR in D2O using calcium formate and dimethyl methylphosphonate as internal standards, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first officially documented occurrence of a psychoactive Psilocybe species from Greece in the peer-reviewed scientific literature as well as the application of reference-standard-free qNMR methods for the quantitation of a psilocybin- and psilocin-containing fungus.
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BibTeX
@article{dadiotis2026direct,
title = {{Direct Quantitation of Psilocybin and Psilocin by 1H and 31P qNMR in Wild Psilocybe from Greece}},
author = {Evangelos Dadiotis and Romanos K. Antonopoulos and Antigoni Cheilari and Alexandra M. Kortsinoglou and Eleni Melliou and Vangelis Mitsis and Kostas Ioannidis and Babumon Thankappan and Rupika Delgoda and Zacharoula Gonou-Zagou and Prokopios Magiatis},
journal = {ACS Omega},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.5c13069},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/62412/5448229/Direct-Quantitation-of-Psilocybin-and-Psilocin-by},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Direct Quantitation of Psilocybin and Psilocin by 1H and 31P qNMR in Wild Psilocybe from Greece
AU - Evangelos Dadiotis
AU - Romanos K. Antonopoulos
AU - Antigoni Cheilari
AU - Alexandra M. Kortsinoglou
AU - Eleni Melliou
AU - Vangelis Mitsis
AU - Kostas Ioannidis
AU - Babumon Thankappan
AU - Rupika Delgoda
AU - Zacharoula Gonou-Zagou
AU - Prokopios Magiatis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - ACS Omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.5c13069
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/62412/5448229/Direct-Quantitation-of-Psilocybin-and-Psilocin-by
AB - The genus Psilocybe (Basidiomycota) comprises over 300 mushroom-forming species, many of which produce the secondary metabolite psilocybin, a prodrug of its dephosphorylated active metabolite psilocin. Psilocybin has recently attracted significant interest, with numerous active, recruiting, and completed clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, primarily investigating its therapeutic potential in central nervous system disorders. Nonetheless, psilocybin remains a controlled substance in many jurisdictions, posing regulatory and legal challenges, not only for clinical research but also for forensic analysis, standardization, and quality control, since it is required as a reference material in chromatographic analyses. To this end, qNMR-based methods for rapid quantitation of psilocybin and psilocin were developed using wild-origin Psilocybe fruitbodies, preserved in the Dried Specimen Collection of the Mycetotheca ATHUM (NKUA). A dephosphorylation step was employed to convert psilocybin to psilocin, followed by GC-MS analysis, confirming its presence in mycelium of the isolated strains. Both native and dephosphorylated extracts were analyzed by 1H and 31P qNMR in D2O using calcium formate and dimethyl methylphosphonate as internal standards, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first officially documented occurrence of a psychoactive Psilocybe species from Greece in the peer-reviewed scientific literature as well as the application of reference-standard-free qNMR methods for the quantitation of a psilocybin- and psilocin-containing fungus.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -