Scientists unlock key of magic mushrooms

[Jabberwocky]

AFTER about 60 years, scientists believe they have cracked the code that may allow them to sythethise the potent ingredient in magic mushrooms, paving the way for medicinal benefits of the psychedelic drug.

Magic mushrooms are probably best known for being gobbled up by hippies for the hallucinations and feelings of uphoria that they inspire.

But psilocybin, the compound that gives magic mushroom their psychotropic qualities, is believed to hold immense potential for producing positive effects in mental health. However our ability to recreate our own version of psilocybin has proven elusive.

“Although its structure has been known for 60 years, the enzymatic basis of its biosynthesis has remained obscure,” the researchers said.

But their new research has made major headway in the quest to synthesize psilocybin, meaning it could soon be mass produced in pharmaceutical drugs. At least, that’s the initial hope.

“Given the renewed pharmaceutical interest in psilocybin, our results may lay the foundation for its biotechnological production,” they wrote in the study published in the German journal Angewandte Chemie.

To the most extensive degree yet, researchers Janis Fricke, Felix Blei, and Dirk Hoffmeister of Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany have identified and characterized the four enzymes that mushrooms use to make psilocybin.

They did so by sequencing the genomes of two mushroom species to identify the genes that govern fungal enzymatic production of the chemical compound.

The psychedelic component of magic mushrooms can quickly and effectively help treat anxiety and depression in cancer patients, an effect that might last for months, previous studies have indicated.

Despite their reputation, psychedelic drugs have looked promising in the past for treating distress in cancer patients, as well as anxiety, PTSD, addiction and depression.

However due to their illegal status, studies assessing their medicinal potential have been far and few between.

But as more research is done and laws in western countries like the US and Australia are relaxed, there is hope psilocybin could play an increasingly bigger role in treating mental health problems.

“Our findings set the stage for ... production in a controlled place for pharmaceutical purposes, using engineered microbial hosts, should the re-discovered pharmaceutical value lead to increased demands,” the study said.


Source: http://www.news.com.au/technology/s...s/news-story/d15e86bd7a2d78d40dbd58737e432eb1

 

[S.J.B.]

That's some neat science, but psilocybin is inexpensive to produce synthetically. This is even more true for psilocin, the molecule that psilocybin is a pro-drug of. An enzymatic synthesis is unlikely to be cost-competitive for producing these on large scale.

 

[Wiserthanearlier]

I was reading this confused as well.
the production methods already exist and are not costly, in context.

So whats going on, article is totally incorrect?

 

[S.J.B.]

So whats going on, article is totally incorrect?

The science is valid, but like with many such articles, they make a claim of potential future utility ("Our findings set the stage for heterologous production of [psilocybin] in a controlled place for pharmaceutical purposes ... should the re-discovered pharmaceutical value lead to increased demands") that is more wishful thinking than rational prediction. The scientists reading the articles are well aware of this - it's just the media outlets that take the claims at face value.