Daily Administration of Psilocin Mucate (L-130) Produces a Favorable Safety Profile and Anxiolytic Effects in Rodents Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress
Frederick D. Sancilio, Maghsoud Dariani, Purvi Chavda, Harsha Mysore Rajagopal, Lyl Tomlinson
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs January 2, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2025.2607726 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rodents |
| Intervention | Psilocin mucate (L-130) |
| Dose | commonly used macro dose level (exact dose not specified) |
| Measures | Elevated Plus Maze, Open Field Test, Novel Object Recognition Task, cortisol levels |
| Topics | Anxiety Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Dosing Anxiolytic Bioavailability Pharmacology Open field Adverse effect Anesthesia Pharmacokinetics Oral administration Anti-anxiety agents |
| Key points | Daily dosing of psilocin mucate (L-130) produced anxiolytic behaviors and reduced cortisol levels, while weekly dosing did not generally produce significant results. |
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are chronic health conditions affecting the quality of life of millions of people. Psilocin, the active moiety of psilocybin, provides an anxiolytic effect; however, when orally administered as psilocybin, it only offers a moderate level of bioavailability and less predictable pharmacokinetics, potentially making effects after absorption variable and increasing the risk of adverse hallucinations, depending on the dose. As such, we investigated a recently developed stable salt of psilocin, psilocin mucate (L-130), which delivers increased bioavailability and, thus, more precise control of therapeutic levels. We examined factors related to L-130's safety, as well as its effectiveness in addressing anxiety at a commonly used macro dose level, along with dosing schedules similar to those noted in the literature. Clinical assessments and blood analyses suggest psilocin mucate is safe and has no toxicological effects. Compared to vehicle controls, daily dosing of L-130 led to significant reductions in cortisol levels and improved performances on several anxiety-related behavioral tasks: the Elevated Plus Maze, the Open Field Test, and the Novel Object Recognition Task. However, weekly dosing did not generally produce significant results. Overall, daily dosing of L-130 was able to produce anxiolytic behaviors, but larger studies are needed to determine optimal doses and dosing schedules.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on psilocybin for anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Psilocin and ketamine microdosing: effects of subchronic intermittent microdoses in the elevated plus-maze in male Wistar rats Wistar rats | 2018 | Experimental study | n = 40 |
| Striking long-term beneficial effects of single dose psilocybin and psychedelic mushroom extract in the SAPAP3 rodent model of OCD-like excessive self-grooming SAPAP3 knockout mice | 2024 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 50 |
| Psilocybe cubensis extract potently prevents fear memory recall and freezing behavior in short- but not long-term in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Male rats | 2024 | Preclinical study | |
| Psilocybin induces acute anxiety and changes in amygdalar phosphopeptides independently from the 5-HT2A receptor Mice | 2024 | Experimental study |