Psilocybin, a compound found in many types of mushrooms, is an antidepressant with potential use in treating anxiety . Unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors have used these clinical results to sell products made from an unrelated and somewhat toxic mushroom: Amanita muscaria . In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, found a significant increase in interest in this mushroom – noting a 114% rise in Google searches from 2022 to 2023.
So what is this mushroom and why is there cause for concern? A muscaria or “fly agaric” is found in temperate and sub-Arctic zones across the northern hemisphere. For millennia , shamans from various regions – from Lapland to Siberia – have used the mushroom in their rituals, helping them achieve a mental state similar to that achieved with other psychedelics. The active ingredients in these mushrooms are muscimol and ibotenic acid, which are entirely different compounds to psilocybin.
Today, products containing muscimol, such as gummies, tinctures and capsules , are being sold with vague promises of better health. The brain contains chemical messengers called neurotransmitters, and muscimol acts on one of these transmitter “receptors” (Gaba-A) to dampen brain activity. Gaba is the brain’s brakes – or in the jargon “inhibitory neurotransmitter”.
Consequently, drugs that act on Gaba-A receptors have been used for anxiety, epilepsy and pain – conditions associated with an over-stimulated brain. .