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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Finally Found the Psychedelic Source of LSD
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: The fungus from which LSD was first synthesized has finally been observed and described by researchers who suspected a fuzz inside the seed coats of morning glory plants. Now known as Periglandula clandestina, this fungal symbiote that coexists with morning glories was so difficult to find because it lives inside the plant as opposed to its Periglandula relatives which live on the outsides of plants and are more easily observable. In the future, P. clandestine could lead to new and more powerful pharmaceuticals that treat migraines and neurodegenerative conditions. In 1963, Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered what gave morning glories psychoactive properties, the lysergic acid amides that would later lead him to (accidentally) create LSD. Hofmann already knew about a mind-altering hallucinogen in morning glories that had been used in Mesoamerican religious rituals since ancient times. Seeing these chemicals in a plant was unexpected, since they are usually associated with fungi. The morning glory fungus eluded him. Finding it would prove to be a trip. Morning glories (Convolvulaceae) are known for having symbiotic relationships with fungi that produce ergot alkaloids. These are the mycotoxins from which some hallucinogens, along with powerful medications for conditions such as dementia and migraines are derived. Many of the fungi that produce these substances belong to the family Clavicipitaceae. While many species of morning glories have been found to contain ergot alkaloids, their fungal symbionts have not always been observed easily. Clavicipitaceae are often detected through DNA or their disappearance when a plant is treated with fungicide. Researchers Corinne Hazel and Daniel Panaccione of West Virginia University knew of evidence for a psychotropic fungus in morning glories. The seed-borne fungus is a Clavicipitaceous genus known as Periglandula, and lives in symbiosis with the morning glory species Ipomoea tricolor, but had never been described further. 'The presence of ergot alkaloids in I. tricolor was associated with [genetic] sequences of an undescribed fungus of the family Clavicipitaceae,' Hazel and Panaccione said in a study recently published in Mycologia. 'Further evidence of a fungal symbiont of I. tricolor included suppression of ergot alkaloid synthesis through treatment with [a] fungicide.' The researchers sought to isolate the fungus and sequence its genome so they could finally describe it. Plant tissues were magnified up to 200 times to search for visible signs of mycelium. Hyphae are the filaments in mycelium which branch out and connect networks of mushrooms underground and make up that dreaded white fuzz seen on moldy bread. Some of morning glory tissues were stained so the mycelium would be easier to identify, and other tissues were given nutrients to promote fungal growth. Because Clavicipitaceae live in seeds, DNA from was also extracted from morning glory seed coats. Hazel knew she was onto something when she spotted white fuzz growing insides of sed coats and suspected fungi. When scientists sequenced the genome of the fungus was sequenced, they found a previously undescribed species of Periglandula. Hazel named it Periglandula clandestina because of how it hides itself within the morning glory plant, which separates it from the other known Periglandula species that grow on the outside of the plant and are not as secretive. Ergot alkaloids were found throughout the plants. They are even present in the roots, where there was no evidence of P. clandestina DNA. The most common alkaloid found in the plants was lysergic acid alpha-hydroxyethylamide (LAH). This alkaloid is one of the lysergic acid amides Hofman identified in his studies. LSD aside, the discovery of the fungus it is synthesized from could open opportunities for significant pharmaceutical discoveries in the future. 'Because P. clandestina produces exceptionally high quantities of ergot alkaloids, the genes in its ergot alkaloid biosynthesis pathway may be a resource for engineering model organisms to overproduce pharmaceutically relevant ergot alkaloids,' said Hazel and Panaccione. The discovery that flowered from a suspicion about fuzz on a seed coat is almost as accidental as the discovery of a substance that will forever be associated with the undulating rainbows of '60s psychedelia, the Beatles' iconic 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,' and even cult pop culture icons like Futurama's Hypnotoad. Even Hoffman himself is quoted as saying, 'I did not choose LSD. LSD found and called me.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
College student discovers psychedelic fungus that eluded LSD inventor
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A university student has discovered an elusive fungus that produces chemicals with similar effects to the psychedelic drug LSD. Corinne Hazel, an environmental microbiology major at West Virginia University in Morgantown, spotted the fungus growing on morning glories. These flowering plants belong to a large family with many species, and Hazel specifically found the fungus in a variety of Mexican morning glory called "Heavenly Blue." The fungus also grows on varieties called "Pearly Gates" and "Flying Saucers," according to a recent study published April 22 in the journal Mycologia. Morning glories were already known to contain a class of chemicals called ergot alkaloids. These chemicals, made exclusively by fungi, are the same class that the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann used to create LSD in the 1930s. Hofmann worked with the fungus Claviceps purpurea, commonly found on rye, to synthesize LSD; he came to suspect that Mexican morning glories must have a similar chemical-producing fungus after learning that the plants were used for their hallucinogenic properties. However, that fungus has remained elusive — until now. Hazel made the discovery while searching for the long-hypothesized fungus with Daniel Panaccione, a plant and soil sciences professor at West Virginia University. She is now investigating the best ways to grow the fungus, which the team thinks may have medicinal value. "I'm lucky to have stumbled into this opportunity," Hazel said in a statement. "People have been looking for this fungus for years, and one day, I look in the right place, and there it is." Related: Scientists show how LSD blows open the doors of perception Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures were the first to recognize that Ipomoea tricolor — commonly called Mexican morning glory or just morning glory — has psychoactive properties. Knowing of I. tricolor's cultural significance, Hofmann identified the chemicals responsible. The chemicals he found were previously only known to come from fungi, but his attempts to observe a fungus on the plant were unsuccessful, according to the study authors. Researchers have since identified two separate fungi that make ergot alkaloids on two other morning glory species, and they've found additional, molecular evidence for the presence of ergot alkaloid-producing fungi on I. tricolor. However, the identity of the fungus itself remained a mystery. Now, with the new study, the elusive I. tricolor-associated fungus has finally been identified. Hazel spotted evidence of the fungus on the plant's seeds. "We had a ton of plants lying around and they had these tiny little seed coats," Hazel said. "We noticed a little bit of fuzz in the seed coat. That was our fungus." Hazel and Panaccione collected a DNA sample from the fungus and sent it away for sequencing. The sequencing revealed that the fungus was related to the fungi previously found on the two other morning glories. Hazel and Panaccione named the new species Periglandula clandestina, with the species name referencing the hidden, or clandestine, nature of the fungus. P. clandestina is very efficient at producing large amounts of ergot alkaloids, the researchers found. The toxic nature of these chemicals likely helps protect the plant from being eaten, so it's thought to be a symbiotic relationship. However, ergot alkaloids are a problem in agriculture, as they contaminate food humans eat and grasses used to nourish livestock, therefore posing a threat to humans and the animals people eat. C. purpurea, the fungi used to invent LSD, would contaminate grain and poison those who consumed it, triggering an illness called "ergotism" that involved gangrene, convulsions, double vision, and of course, hallucinations. RELATED STORIES —LSD alters consciousness by breaking down barriers in the brain —Microdosing with 'shrooms or LSD no better than placebo, study finds —Weed may be bad for your heart, whether you smoke or consume edibles That said, ergot alkaloids can also be used in medicines to treat conditions like migraines. The newly discovered fungus could therefore have a role in medicine and agriculture, the study authors propose. "Many things are toxic," Panaccione said. "But if you administer them in the right dosage or modify them, they can be useful pharmaceuticals. By studying them, we may be able to figure out ways to bypass the side effects. These are big issues for medicine and agriculture." Hofmann was pursuing the medicinal properties of fungus when he first synthesized LSD. He only discovered LSD's powerful psychoactive effects when he accidentally got a drop of it on his skin — and then deliberately ingested more a few days later. This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
