Behavioural and pharmacological evaluation of the psilocybin analogue baeocystin in Wistar rats.
Hynek Danda, Kristýna Mazochová, Klára Šíchová, Vladimír Mazoch, Lucie Olejníková-Ladislavová, Kateřina Syrová, Bronislav Jurásek, Petra Cihlářová, Radek Jurok, Tomáš Páleníček, Martin Kuchař
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry July 5, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111439 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Wistar rats |
| Intervention | Baeocystin |
| Dose | 1.25 or 5 mg/kg |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Open field Pharmacokinetics Prepulse inhibition Wistar rats Baeocystin compound Neurobiological activity |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Baeocystin had no significant effects on locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, anxiety-like responses, or sensorimotor gating in rats, consistent with its poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier. |
Abstract
Baeocystin is a naturally occurring tryptamine-based compound found in various psychoactive mushrooms, including in several species of Psilocybe genus. Due to its structural similarity to psilocybin, which has shown a therapeutic potential in treatment of psychiatric disorders, there is a growing interest in investigating whether baeocystin exhibits comparable effects. This study investigated the pharmacokinetic profile and acute behavioural effects of baeocystin in Wistar rats. Behavioural assessments including locomotor activity and its spatial characteristics (in the open field test) and sensorimotor gating measured by prepulse inhibition were evaluated after subcutaneous administration of 1.25 or 5 mg/kg baeocystin. Pharmacokinetics and brain-serum ratios were analysed after the 5 mg/kg sc. dose. Pharmacokinetics demonstrated that both baeocystin and its metabolite, norpsilocin, have a very limited ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Consistent with the pharmacokinetic profile, baeocystin had no significant effects on locomotor activity, exploratory behaviour, anxiety-like responses, or sensorimotor gating at doses of either 1.25 or 5 mg/kg. In conclusion, our results suggest that baeocystin has minimal to no behavioural effects in rats, probably due to its poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier. This limited penetration may account for its negligible neurobiological and psychedelic activity.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin induces rapid and persistent growth of dendritic spines in frontal cortex in vivo Mice | 2021 | Observational cohort | |
| Harnessing psilocybin: antidepressant-like behavioral and synaptic actions of psilocybin are independent of 5-HT2R activation in mice Mice | 2021 | Experimental study | |
| Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period Mice | 2023 | Experimental study in mice | |
| Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species. C57BL/6J mice | 2020 | Experimental study with dose-response experiments | |
| Effects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditioning Mice | 2013 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cites 23
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Psychopharmacology November 8, 2017
- Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry November 15, 2006
- Acute Effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Subjects Biological Psychiatry November 29, 2014
- Psilocybin-Induced Deficits in Automatic and Controlled Inhibition are Attenuated by Ketanserin in Healthy Human Volunteers Neuropsychopharmacology September 28, 2011
and 18 more in the library