Psilocin
Psilocin (4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine): Also known as:C12H16N2O; 4-HO-DMT; 4-hydroxy DMT; 1H-indol-4-ol, 3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl] psilocine; psilocyn;or psilotsin
Psilocin is a substituted tryptamine alkaloid and a serotonergic psychedelic substance. It is the primary psychoactive constituent in certain species of Psilocybin Mushrooms, and as a closely related structural analog of the powerful visionary entheogen DMT (also known as N,N-dimethyltryptamine). Psilocin was first isolated and named by Albert Hofmann in 1958.
Its psychoactivity is thought to emerge from the close chemical similarities with the neurotransmitter serotonin, which enables it to interact with a range of serotonin receptor sites throughout the brain that are integral for sensory and cognitive processes. Notably, while psilocin naturally co-occurs with psilocybin in significant amounts of most psilocybin-containing mushrooms, it is only ever rarely encountered in its synthetic form.
Anecdotal reports describe pure psilocin as a more lucid and aggressive version of psilocybin mushrooms. Unlike other highly prohibited substances, psilocin is not considered to be addictive or physiologically toxic. Nevertheless, adverse psychological reactions such as severe anxiety, paranoia and psychosis are always possible, particularly among those predisposed to mental illness.
Psilocin occur in their pure forms as white crystalline powders. It unstable in light, particularly while in solution, although its stability at low temperatures in the dark under an inert atmosphere is very good.[3] While psilocybin is soluble in water, psilocin on the other hand is more lipid-soluble.[3] However, psilocin can be also diluted in an acidified aqueous solution and in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO; up to 100mM). Furthermore, both substances are soluble in methanol and ethanol, but almost insoluble in petroleum ether and chloroform.[3] Psilocin is unstable, considered to be more prone to destructive oxidation, and breaks down when the mushroom is dried.[60]