Imagine that you buy a bag of gummies labeled as nootropics, a term used to describe substances that claim to improve mental capacity and function, or “smart drugs.” However, within a few hours of consuming them, your heart accelerates, you have nausea and vomiting. Then you begin to convulse, resulting in a visit to the hospital.
Surely you did not expect to have such a serious reaction to a edible product of free sale, available online, herbalists and vapeo stores throughout the country. What happened?
The so -called “microdosification” of fungi has been increasing in recent years, following a change in local policies in some areas and greater research on their possible benefits for mood and mental health.
Microdosification consists in ingesting small amounts of psychoactive fungi, lower than a regular dose, and not in sufficient quantities to induce a “trip” or psychedelic experience, but to improve mood, creativity, concentration or productivity.
Psychedelic fungi are illegal at the federal level, classified as substances of “List 1” by the Food and Medicines Administration (FDA), although some states and municipalities have begun the process of decriminalizing their possession.
This greater acceptance of fungi and psychedelics has resulted in a growing market of edible products that contain non -hallucinogenic fungi species, appearing on supermarket shelves, vapeo stores and even gas stations, with statements that these products improve mental function.
To meet demand, manufacturers are also resorting to other types of fungi, both psychoactive and non -psychedelic, some of which are potentially more toxic. However, it often lacks key information that allows consumers to make informed decisions about which products to consume.
I am a scientist of natural products at the State University of Pennsylvania. My laboratory specializes in understanding the molecules present in plants, fungi and other natural resources, and how they can benefit or harm human health. Our team actively investigates these molecules to discover how infectious and chronic diseases can fight, and also monitor them to detect toxic or adverse effects on human health.
While nootropic products have the potential to improve health, there may be little transparency in many commercial fungal products, which could have dangerous consequences.
Chemistry and toxicology of psychoactive fungi
The main psychoactive components of the traditional fungi of the genre Psilocybe They are psilocybin and psilocin. These small molecules are alkaloids that activate receptors in the brain to trigger the psychoactive effects characteristic of magical fungi.
Both psilocybin and psilocin have a high therapeutic index, which means that they are generally not toxic to humans, since the amount needed to cause damage or being deadly is more than 500 times higher than the dose that has proven to be therapeutically effective. Therefore, it is considered that the fungi containing psilocybin have a low potential for acute toxicity, to the point that it is almost impossible to reach a dangerous dose due to oral consumption.
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Demand generates diversification in fungal supply
With the growing popularity of psychedelic fungi, companies seek ways to meet consumers’ demand. In some cases, this has involved using fungi without psilocybin and, therefore, without restrictions of the FDA.
The result was an increase in products without legal obstacles, some of which contain other fungi, such as León, Chaga, Reishi, Maitake and a genre of fungi called Amanitawhich can be hallucinogen.
The mushrooms Amanita They are the poisonous fungi par excellence, with white motorcycles and red hat, the typical image of a fungus. These fungi contain compounds very different from those of fungi Psilocybesuch as muscarin and ibotenic acid. These compounds act differently in the brain and, although they can also produce psychedelic experiences, they are usually considered more toxic.
Nootropics and other fungal products are often found in groceries, such as chocolates and gomites. However, there is little application of the regulations regarding the labeling of ingredients of these dietary supplements; Products with patented mixture should generally not inform each ingredient at species level.
This protects commercial secrets, but can also hide the real composition of some edible and microdosification nootropic products, with potentially dangerous consequences.
Increased adverse effects
The explosion of fungus -based nootropic products has resulted in a wide variety of products in the market, which can contain very different levels of fungi, often mixing multiple species. With the low regulation in force, it may be difficult to know exactly what is being consumed.
A case study in Virginia involved five hospitalized people after ingest Amanita.
A subsequent analysis of available gomit marks locally revealed the presence of psilocybin, but also of caffeine, ephedrine and mitragynina, a possible analgesic present in plant products of Southeast Asia, such as the Kratom. None of these ingredients appeared on the product label, so the combination of fungi and other substances consumed was not reflected in the container.
The growing use of potentially toxic fungi in free sales products was reflected in cases of EU poisoning. In 2016, of more than 6,400 cases of mushroom -related poisoning, only 45 were caused by Amanita Muscaria.
In recent years, since some states began to decriminalize the psilocybin, an increase in calls to toxicology centers for nausea, vomiting, convulsions, cardiovascular symptoms and other adverse effects and other adverse effects were observed after ingesting edible products based on fungi, such as chocolates and gomites. This led to a multi -state investigation initiated in 2023, which revealed more than 180 cases in 34 states associated with the Diamond Shruumz brand.
A market withdrawal in 2024 forced stores to remove these products from their shelves. At the end of 2024, the FDA issued a letter warning consumers and manufacturers about the dangers of fungi Amanitaindicating that “they do not comply with the standard of generally recognized as insurance (GRAS) and that they are not approved food additives.” Despite this warning, products are still available through some producers.
Even when a product is labeled correctly, it is easy to confuse fungi by collecting them. Numerous species have similar shapes, colors and habits.
But, despite visual similarities, these fungi can have very different chemistry and toxicity. This even affects culinary fungal collectors, with hundreds of emergency visits every year in the US due to erroneous identifications.
There is currently little regulation or supervision on the identification of species in dietary supplements or edible products based on free sales fungi, leaving consumers at the mercy of producers to accurately list all the ingredients on the label.
*Joshua Kellogg He is an attached professor of natural products chemistry, Penn.
This article was originally published in The Conversation
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