Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil is a South American tree used traditionally by Indigenous communities for medicine and rituals. Its bark, leaves, seeds, and gum contain alkaloids like bufotenine, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT, along with triterpenes, steroids, saponins, and flavonoids. Preclinical research confirms anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, and wound-healing effects, especially in bark extracts. Seed alkaloids have potent psychoactive properties but also potential cardiotoxic and neurotoxic effects. The gum, composed of high-arabinose heteropolysaccharides, shows wound-healing and antidiarrheal potential with low toxicity. This review synthesizes the species' ethnobotany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology, identifying knowledge gaps for future research.
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic derived from Psilocybe mushrooms, is experiencing renewed interest for treating mental health disorders, addiction, and cancer-related depression, and its benefits are expanding into brain injury and lifespan due to its ability to enhance neuroplasticity. Its psychoactive effects arise from psilocin acting as a partial agonist at the 5-HT2A receptor. After the FDA's breakthrough therapy designation for treatment-resistant depression in 2018 and major depressive disorder in 2019, large-scale synthesis became a major challenge, requiring complex multi-step processes with strict temperature control and hazardous reagents. Modified versions of Hofmann's original method now enable kilogram-scale production for clinical trials. This mini review covers the history, chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutic use of psilocybin in depression.