Enhancement of Indole Alkaloids Produced by Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer (Agaricomycetideae) in Controlled Harvesting Light Conditions

The psilocin content of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms depends strongly on the lighting conditions during harvest. Mushrooms harvested in complete darkness contained up to 100 times more psilocin than those harvested under dim daylight or indirect daylight. A simple one-step extraction with chloroform and derivatization with MSTFA followed by GC-MS analysis was used to measure psilocin levels. Preventing natural light in the harvesting chamber may therefore have a considerable effect on the psychoactive potency of the mushroom.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Indole alkaloids of Psilocybe cubensis have been reported to be the potential candidates for drug discovery in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. In this research, the effect of the harvesting light on increasing the active alkaloids of P. cubensis was investigated. Three different lighting conditions, that is, dim daylight, indirect daylight, and darkness were used to harvest the mushrooms. A simple one-step extraction method involving the homogenization of the dried fruit bodies of fungi in chloroform was used. The psilocin content of the mushrooms was analyzed by derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA), followed by the GC-MS technique. This investigation showed that the psilocin content of the mushrooms was highly dependent on the lighting conditions. Variations could amount to 100-fold increases in the samples harvested in the dark condition, compared to the samples harvested in the light conditions. Therefore, preventing natural light in the harvesting chamber could be considered to have a considerable effect on the content of the psychotropic component of P. cubensis and, hence, the psycho activity of the mushroom.