Research on Pan Cyan Alkaloid Changes During Storage

[UPDATE: 7 month follow up data is available here].
When I sent in my entry for the previous Cultivar Cup (June 2023) I included a lot of extra material so that MagicMyco could retest things after being left in storage for a while in hopes that we could try to determine the best way to store mushrooms.

[FYI: the Winter Cup Deadline is Dec 1st if anyone is interested in sending their own samples for testing]

I have seen some prior published research that gave us a bunch of useful recommendations (like storing the mushrooms in the dark at room temp is ideal), but I felt like some of the results from that study were questionable so I wanted to see more research conducted. Also the research I have seen was with cubensis mushrooms, and I wanted to see what things would look like with Panaeolus cyanescens. My hypothesis was that the ideal storage conditions might be in powdered form (despite the popular belief that whole form is best) IF you were also using an inert gas which was recommended in the above referenced research paper (specifically I use a product called bloxygen which is argon, for this). My thinking was that the powdered form would be more compact with fewer air pockets, and the inert gas would displace the air more efficiently that way, which would help preserve the alkaloids by preventing oxidation at least of the psilocin, but also by excluding moisture which might otherwise contribute to dephosphorylation of psilocybin.

So what did the research reveal? In one respect, this experiment confirmed the finding of the published study mentioned above, from that study:

In our case 65% of the psilocybin broke down (dephosphorylized) into psilocin within the 4 month period. It made very little difference if the mushrooms were in powdered form, whole form, stored with argon, or without argon! Technically the sample stored in powdered form with argon had the best preservation of alkaloids, but the benefit was tiny and not statistically significant. Also storing powdered without argon had the worst result somewhat confirming the idea that storing them whole is better if you aren't going to use an inert gas, but again the difference was tiny and not statistically significant so I can't really make a definitive conclusion about this.

It's important to point out however, that despite all that destruction of psilocybin, the overall potency of the samples remained REMARKABLY stable over 4 months. This was actually a surprise to me. This can be seen in the graph below as the green bars representing psilocybin equivalent. The psilocybin becomes psilocin as it breaks down, so the potency is not lost, notice the red bar in the graph which is psilocin, rising substantially as the psilocybin, blue bar, goes down.

(Note: psilocybin equivalent means adding the measured psilocybin to the psilocin*[molecular weight of psilocybin=284.252/molecular weight of psilocin=204.273] this is to account for the fact that psilocin is approximately 39% more potent by weight than psilocybin (actual multiplier is 1.3915299624 * psilocin = psilocybin equivalent).

What does this mean?  When properly dried (cracker dry) and stored in sealed glass jars at room temperature and out of light, after four months in storage the mushrooms were nearly as potent as the day they were put into the jars. There was only a 4% loss of potency in the sample stored in powdered form with argon. In the worst case, there was a 9% loss of potency in the sample stored in powdered form without argon and a 5% loss of potency in the sample stored in whole form without argon.  Note that there could be a slight difference in the time to onset of visuals with the high psilocin samples coming on faster, and powdered material also coming on faster, but I've never seen anyone scientifically verify that (the theory being that it takes some time for the psilocybin to be converted to psilocin in the gut, and it also takes extra time to break down whole mushrooms compared to powdered).  My personal anecdotes do seem to confirm this idea, aged, powdered pan cyans have given me the fastest time to visuals, as little as 20 minutes, while fresh whole mushrooms have taken over an hour for onset of visuals but there are many factors involved including dosage, time since last eating, tolerance, etc.

I am very interested in seeing a follow up on this research after one full year in storage. Psilocin is generally regarded as not being especially stable. It is possible that the samples stored in argon will show a more significant benefit by the one year mark if the argon successfully prevents oxidation as it should, but that is still just speculation at this point.

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In the news: Major Psychedelic Legislative Update

In case you hadn't heard the news, there was somewhat of a blow to the decriminalization movement recently. California's legislature actually PASSED a bill that would decriminalize natural psychedelics including mushrooms, DMT and mescaline. All that was required would have been the governor's signature. This woud have been a huge milestone as California is the largest state by population in the US. However, the bill was vetoed:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoes Bill That Would Have Decriminalized Psychedelic Mushrooms

There may be a silver lining here though, it seems that the governor's main objection was simply that the state should have rules and guidelines in place before decriminalizing. He even specifically stated that "California should immediately begin work to set up regulated treatment guidelines - replete with dosing information, therapeutic guidelines, rules to prevent against exploitation during guided treatments, and medical clearance of no underlying psychoses. Unfortunately, this bill would decriminalize possession prior to these guidelines going into place, and I cannot sign it.”

This seems like a reasonable response and implies that as soon as California does have official guidelines around the safe use of psychedelics, he may in fact pass a future decrim bill. It is also worth mentioning that activists are aiming to put a ballot measure up for vote in California in November 2024 which would separately allow voters to directly decide for themselves if they want to decriminalize mushrooms (both use and sales). So it seems inevitable that California will eventually get there...

As an aside, a woman who testified against decriminalizing mushrooms in California told the story of how her son, away at college, died after taking mushrooms. Apparently he had mistaken a container of protein powder in his room for a glass of water, then choked to death when he tried to drink the powder. I do feel her pain, this seems like such a tragic story, but that type of incident is so rare I've never heard of anything like it ever happening before (see the comments section, I am now very skeptical that this death had anything to do with mushrooms, it turns out "dry scooping" protein powder was a stupid viral trend that many people have died from and I'm guessing this is the more logical explanation for the young man's death). I guess if anything it emphasizes the need for more education, when you trip keep hazards away, use a sitter when possible, especially for a first time experience, and always have a little bottle of water nearby to sip as needed. But I wonder if this woman or other people even know that according to statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism an estimated 1,519 college students ages 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries EVERY YEAR in the US alone. You have to put things into context! Heck 3,000 people die from aspirin every year.  A lot of people die playing sports but we don't ban sports, or car crashes but we don't ban cars.

I'd be surprised if more than 20 people died from anything directly related to psychedelic mushrooms in the last decade!  Probably a few people died from misidentifying wild mushrooms that were poisonous, perhaps a few died from accidents while under the influence, and I know of one reported incident where a man with a heart condition died while on mushrooms (they can elevate blood pressure and heart rate just like a roller coaster could, or even exercising could, people like this could have a heart attack from lots of things). It seems abundantly clear that alcohol is much more dangerous than mushrooms, so why do so many people seem to think the opposite? Education is still very much a problem when it comes to psychedelics, but I think we are making progress. For more details on this topic see the FAQ question "What are the risks of using psychedelics?"

(Source: Drug harms in the UK: a multicriteria decision analysis)

Blessings to you,

Gordo

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Links to all of my TEKs, Videos, Trip music, and frequently asked questions with answers can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/22774475 (everything is made available for FREE, I do not use pay walls, support the work only if you feel like you've benefited from it and you are able to do so).  People have told me my work has helped them overcome depression, addictions, PTSD, relationship issues, direction in life, and to have important, meaningful, sometimes life changing mystical experiences.  I feel honored and blessed to play a small role in this.  That is my reward.