psilocin

[markosheehan]

Is psilocybin active in itself or does it only become pyschoactive when it converts to psilocin. Does all of the psilocybin get converted to psilocin? In a mushroom what is the percentage of psilocybin baeocystin and norbaeocystin

 

[Hodor]

Psilocybin is an extremely polar molecule (meaning it can't cross into the brain), so it is unlikely to be active before being converted to Psilocin. And yes, pure Psilocybin and pure Psilocin are similar in potency, which suggests that almost all of it gets converted.

The ratio of the different tryptamines depends on a number of factors, but mostly species/strain, age and growth conditions. Note that Baeocystin and Norbaeocystin are basically inactive anyway.