DNA-based taxonomic identification of basidiospores in hallucinogenic mushrooms cultivated in “grow-kits” seized by the police: LC-UV quali-quantitative determination of psilocybin and psilocin

Matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization-mass spectrometric imaging of psilocybin and its analogues in psychedelic mushrooms using a cesium chloride-coated target plate

Fungi with hallucinogenic properties and neurotoxicity have been listed as prohibited drugs in recent years, but there is a lack of in situ quantification of psilocybin and analogues in these samples to avoid the decomposition of these psychoactive tryptamines in time-consuming sample preparation. In this study, matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization (MALDI)-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT ICR) mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) was used to analyze the distribution of psilocybin and its analogues in hallucinogenic Psilocybe mushrooms. A cesium chloride (CsCl)-coated target plate was prepared to improve the detection sensitivity and reduce the interference of other compounds or decomposition products with very similar m/z values in MALDI-FT ICR MS analysis. Psilocybin and other tryptamines with structurally similar compounds, including psilocin, baeocystin, tryptophan, tryptamine, and aeruginascin, were identified and imaged in the psilocybe tissue section; the semiquantitative analysis of the distribution of psilocybin was also investigated using a homemade 75-well CsCl-coated plate; and the target plate can be placed on the mass spectrometry target carrier along with the indium-tin oxide (ITO) conductive slide, which can simultaneously carry out matrix vapor deposition, thus ensuring the parallelism between the standards and samples in the pretreatment experiment and MSI. The contents of psilocybin and its analogues in the psilocybe tissue section can be evaluated from the color changes corresponding to different concentration standard curves. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison between MALDI-FT ICR MS and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF MS) analysis was performed for quantification and validation. This study reduces the decomposition in time-consuming sample pretreatment and provides a powerful tool for drug abuse control and forensic analysis.

Cystathionine Gamma-Lyase Regulate Psilocybin Biosynthesis in Gymnopilus dilepis Mushroom via Amino Acid Metabolism Pathways

As a potential medicine for the treatment of depression, psilocybin has gradually attracted attention. To elucidate the molecular mechanism regulating psilocybin synthesis in Gymnopilus dilepis, ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) was used to detect the changes in psilocybin content after S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine (SAH) treatment and the changes of psilocybin content in different parts (stipe and pileus), and RNA-Seq was used to explore the mechanism of psilocybin content changes. In this study, the psilocybin content in G. dilepis mycelia treated with SAH was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the content of psilocybin in the stipe was significantly higher than that in the pileus. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differential expression genes (DEGs) were associated with cysteine and methionine metabolism. In particular, the transcription levels of genes encoding Cystathionine gamma-lyase (CTH) in different treatments and different parts were positively correlated with psilocybin content. In addition, we found that the exogenous addition of CTH activity inhibitor (DL-propargylglycine, PAG) could reduce the content of psilocybin and L-serine, and the content of psilocybin and L-serine returned to normal levels after L-cysteine supplementation, suggesting that psilocybin synthesis may be positively correlated with L-cysteine or CTH, and L-cysteine regulates the synthesis of psilocybin by affecting L-serine and 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan. In conclusion, this study revealed a new molecular mechanism that affects psilocybin biosynthesis, which can provide a theoretical basis for improving psilocybin synthesis and the possibility for the development of biomedicine.

Further development of a liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry-based strategy for analyzing eight biomarkers in human urine indicating toxic mushroom or Ricinus communis ingestions

Recently, we presented a strategy for analysis of eight biomarkers in human urine to verify toxic mushroom or Ricinus communis ingestions. However, screening for the full panel is not always necessary. Thus, we aimed to develop a strategy to reduce analysis time and by focusing on two sets of analytes. One set (A) for biomarkers of late-onset syndromes, such as phalloides syndrome or the syndrome after castor bean intake. Another set (B) for biomarkers of early-onset syndromes, such as pantherine-muscaria syndrome and muscarine syndrome. Both analyses should be based on hydrophilic-interaction liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS)/MS (HILIC-HRMS/MS). For A, urine samples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction using dichloromethane and subsequent solid-phase extraction of the aqueous supernatant. For B urine was precipitated using acetonitrile. Method A was validated for ricinine and α- and β-amanitin and method B for muscarine, muscimol, and ibotenic acid according to the specifications for qualitative analytical methods. In addition, robustness of recovery and normalized matrix factors to matrix variability measured by urinary creatinine was tested. Moreover, applicability was tested using 10 urine samples from patients after suspected mushroom intoxication. The analytes α- and β-amanitin, muscarine, muscimol, and ibotenic acid could be successfully identified. Finally, psilocin-O-glucuronide could be identified in two samples and unambiguously distinguished from bufotenine-O-glucuronide via their MS² patterns. In summary, the current workflow offers several advantages towards the previous method, particularly being more labor-, time-, and cost-efficient, more robust, and more sensitive.

A Forensic Detection Method for Hallucinogenic Mushrooms via High-Resolution Melting (HRM) Analysis

In recent years, trafficking and abuse of hallucinogenic mushrooms have become a serious social problem. It is therefore imperative to identify hallucinogenic mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe for national drug control legislation. An internal transcribed spacer (ITS) is a DNA barcoding tool utilized for species identification. Many methods have been used to discriminate the ITS region, but they are often limited by having a low resolution. In this study, we sought to analyze the ITS and its fragments, ITS1 and ITS2, by using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis, which is a rapid and sensitive method for evaluating sequence variation within PCR amplicons. The ITS HRM assay was tested for specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, and the capacity to analyze mixture samples. It was shown that the melting temperatures of the ITS, ITS1, and ITS2 of Psilocybe cubensis were 83.72 ± 0.01, 80.98 ± 0.06, and 83.46 ± 0.08 °C, and for other species, we also obtained species-specific results. Finally, we performed ITS sequencing to validate the presumptive taxonomic identity of our samples, and the sequencing output significantly supported our HRM data. Taken together, these results indicate that the HRM method can quickly distinguish the DNA barcoding of Psilocybe cubensis and other fungi, which can be utilized for drug trafficking cases and forensic science.

Stability of psilocybin and its four analogs in the biomass of the psychotropic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis

Psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, and aeruginascin are tryptamines structurally similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Psilocybin and its pharmacologically active metabolite psilocin in particular are known for their psychoactive effects. These substances typically occur in most species of the genus Psilocybe (Fungi, Strophariaceae). Even the sclerotia of some of these fungi known as "magic truffles" are of growing interest in microdosing due to them improving cognitive function studies. In addition to microdosing studies, psilocybin has also been applied in clinical studies, but only its pure form has been administrated so far. Moreover, the determination of tryptamine alkaloids is used in forensic analysis. In this study, freshly cultivated fruit bodies of Psilocybe cubensis were used for monitoring stability (including storage and processing conditions of fruiting bodies). Furthermore, mycelium and the individual parts of the fruiting bodies (caps, stipes, and basidiospores) were also examined. The concentration of tryptamines in final extracts was analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. No tryptamines were detected in the basidiospores, and only psilocin was present at 0.47 wt.% in the mycelium. The stipes contained approximately half the amount of tryptamine alkaloids (0.52 wt.%) than the caps (1.03 wt.%); however, these results were not statistically significant, as the concentration of tryptamines in individual fruiting bodies is highly variable. The storage conditions showed that the highest degradation of tryptamines was seen in fresh mushrooms stored at -80°C, and the lowest decay was seen in dried biomass stored in the dark at room temperature.

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016-2019

This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in controlled substances from 2016 to 2019 as a part of the 19th Interpol International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. The review papers are also available at the Interpol website at: https://www.interpol.int/content/download/14458/file/Interpol%20Review%20Papers%202019.pdf.