Untargeted analysis of psilocybin and non-psilocybin mushrooms using liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry.
Sabrina Islam, Tiffany Liden, Roman Goff, Kevin A Schug
Journal of chromatography. A July 19, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2025.466009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Comparative untargeted analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Several species of psilocybin mushrooms and edible non-psilocybin mushrooms |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Food chemistry Multivariate analysis Untargeted analysis Psychedelic compounds Natural products chemistry Analytical methods Fungal metabolites |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Psilocybin mushrooms and non-psilocybin mushrooms are compositionally very different from each other. |
Abstract
Psilocybin mushrooms, particularly those containing the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin, have attracted recent attention due to their potential therapeutic use for the treatment of psychological disorders. To use psilocybin mushrooms in a clinical context, it is important to understand their chemical composition more fully. An untargeted analysis using liquid chromatography (LC) quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was performed to explore the chemical diversity of various species of psilocybin mushrooms (PM) relative to edible non-psilocybin mushrooms (NPM). The analysis was performed using reversed phase LC with electrospray ionization in data independent acquisition mode. The study revealed the presence of several classes of compounds and their derivatives. The data was analyzed using multiple statistical methods. Principal component analysis showed that the psilocybin mushrooms and non-psilocybin mushrooms are compositionally very different from each other. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the chemical complexity of psilocybin mushrooms and lay groundwork for future research into their potential applications in medicine and psychology.