An analysis of twenty mushroom species from seven genera in the Pacific Northwest detected psilocybin—and sometimes psilocin—in seven species across three genera. The amount of these compounds varied more than sevenfold between different collections of the same species. In mushrooms used recreationally or entheogenically, total psilocybin and psilocin levels ranged from 0.1% to nearly 2% of dry weight.
A method for rapidly measuring the amounts of psilocybin and psilocin in wild mushroom extracts uses reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with paired-ion reagents. Nine solvent systems and three solid supports were tested for how well they separate psilocybin, psilocin, and other components of crude mushroom extracts using thin-layer chromatography.
In controlled cultures of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, psilocin levels were generally zero in the first or second fruiting flush and reached a maximum by the fourth flush. Psilocybin levels were nearly always at least twice those of psilocin, showed no consistent trend across flushes, but varied up to fourfold. Mushroom samples from outside sources had psilocybin levels varying more than tenfold between collections.