Psilocybin might not be the most psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, new research suggests

“The computational models provided evidence that a compound called 4-hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine might bind to serotonin receptors even more strongly than psilocin does. This specific chemical is a broken-down form of aeruginascin, another natural compound found in the fungi.

“One surprising finding was that psilocybin itself may not be the most biologically active compound in these mushrooms,” Issahaku told PsyPost. “Our computational modelling suggested that another indole alkaloid, 4 hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethyltryptamine (a dephosphorylated form of aeruginascin), may bind even more strongly to serotonin receptors.””