The Magical Science of Amanita Muscaria
The wisdom of Amanita has been with us humans and animals for millennia. It is only in recent times that we have begun to look into and discover the amazing complexity of fungi and the processes happening behind the effects, interactions, benefits and healing abilities on our mental and physical being. With Amanita Muscaria there was quite a lot of research done in the 1960’s and 70’s but then it went quiet for many years. That has now changed!!
There has been so much interest in this mushroom as of late and there is once again an abundance of new and exciting research being done. There are many different active compounds found within Amanita Muscaria and more are being discovered each year but lets keep it simple here and have a look at just a few. There are two primary compounds that are known to be responsible for her psychoactive effects. These are Ibotenic acid and Muscimol. Ibotenic acid acts as a powerful neurotoxin, significantly impacting our nervous system due to its structural resemblance to glutamate—a key neurotransmitter responsible for sending signals between nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body. This compound has been largely overlooked as beneficial in the scientific community due to its toxicity but this is changing. In the latest research scientists are looking more deeply into Ibotenic acid and there is much interest in its use in many areas including mental health, particularity with anxiety and depression as well as some cancers. Studies are also hinting at its ability to protect the brain from certain disorders.
The other psychoactive compound, Muscimol is not toxic to us humans and the list of its healing benefits just keeps getting longer and longer. It is a potent agonist of GABA receptors which means that it activates this receptor which is the brain's principal inhibitory neurotransmitter. This neurotransmitter is key to the central nervous system. When Muscimol activates these receptors the effect is calming and sedative which can help greatly in regulating the nervous system when under stress. This has led to a lot of research in its use for mental health and addiction with incredible results. It can also help with some sleep disorders and is a very effective in treating pain, particularly nerve pain. It is also neuroprotective which means that is has the ability to reduce damage caused by stroke and it has been found to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
This is really just scratching the surface of this incredible medicine. In Amanita Muscaria there is much less Muscimol than Ibotenic acid but when heat is applied amazingly Ibotenic acid in converted to Muscimol. This is done by drying the mushroom with warm air or simmering in water. The scientific term for this is decarboxylation. Chemically what happens is that during this process carbon dioxide is removed and with that removal the compound is changed. Now this is something that our ancestors all over the world have know for thousands of years and different cultures have different ways of achieving this. A few examples before ingesting were drying the mushrooms in the hot sun or simmering them in water multiple times discarding the water each time. Another method was to drink the urine of someone who has ingested the dried mushroom. The liver actually does the decarboxylation process and converts Ibotenic acid to Muscimol in small doses. Both of these compounds are water soluble so what ever is not taken up by the body in the stomach then moves on to the liver where Muscimol is passed straight through and Ibotenic acid is converted to Muscimol before ending up in the urine.
Some cultures dried the mushrooms and then removed the outer red skin which contains the highest concentration of Ibotenic acid and smoked the rest. The method we use is to dry the mushrooms in a dehydrator. This is very effective for preparing the mushrooms for micro-dosing. For higher doses we use a simmering method in addition to drying. This process is also useful in micro-dosing if you are taking them in the evening and having trouble sleeping as it will convert even more of the Ibotenic acid to Muscimol.
There is another compound found within Amanita Muscaria that I would like to touch on here and that is Muscarine. It mimics the function of the natural neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Low levels of acetylcholine are associated with Lyme disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. There has been some research to show that it may be helpful in alleviating some of the effects of these diseases particularity around cognitive function and clarity.
This amazingly powerful mushroom is so diverse in its healing properties and its not surprising that is found growing on every continent of Mother Earth. Ever grateful for your incredible wisdom Amanita Muscaria.
written by Rikk Smith
Amanita Science references
Microdosing with Amanita Muscaria: Creativity, Healing, and Recovery with the Sacred Mushroom Paperback – 29 Sept. 2022
by Baba Masha (Author), James Fadiman Ph.D. (Foreword)
GABA potentiation: a logical pharmacological approach for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke
A.Richard Green, ... David M. Jackson, in Neuropharmacology, 2000
Amanita muscaria extract potentiates production of proinflammatory cytokines by dsRNA-activated human microglia
Ashley Wagner 1, Marcus Pehar 1,2, Zhimin Yan 1, Marianna Kulka 1,2,* Front Pharmacol. 2023 Apr 12;14:1102465. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1102465
Muscimol as a treatment for nerve injury-related neuropathic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies
Hamzah Adel Ramawad 1, Parsa Paridari 2, Sajjad Jabermoradi 2, Pantea Gharin 2, Amirmohammad Toloui 2, Saeed Safari 3,✉, Mahmoud Yousefifard 2,✉
Korean J Pain. 2023 Sep 21;36(4):425–440. doi: 10.3344/kjp.23161
Fly Agaric Mushroom (briefly) Wednesday, 16 May 2012 original source: http://lymeuk.blogspot.com/2012/05/fly-agaric-mushroom.html
There has been so much interest in this mushroom as of late and there is once again an abundance of new and exciting research being done. There are many different active compounds found within Amanita Muscaria and more are being discovered each year but lets keep it simple here and have a look at just a few. There are two primary compounds that are known to be responsible for her psychoactive effects. These are Ibotenic acid and Muscimol. Ibotenic acid acts as a powerful neurotoxin, significantly impacting our nervous system due to its structural resemblance to glutamate—a key neurotransmitter responsible for sending signals between nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body. This compound has been largely overlooked as beneficial in the scientific community due to its toxicity but this is changing. In the latest research scientists are looking more deeply into Ibotenic acid and there is much interest in its use in many areas including mental health, particularity with anxiety and depression as well as some cancers. Studies are also hinting at its ability to protect the brain from certain disorders.
The other psychoactive compound, Muscimol is not toxic to us humans and the list of its healing benefits just keeps getting longer and longer. It is a potent agonist of GABA receptors which means that it activates this receptor which is the brain's principal inhibitory neurotransmitter. This neurotransmitter is key to the central nervous system. When Muscimol activates these receptors the effect is calming and sedative which can help greatly in regulating the nervous system when under stress. This has led to a lot of research in its use for mental health and addiction with incredible results. It can also help with some sleep disorders and is a very effective in treating pain, particularly nerve pain. It is also neuroprotective which means that is has the ability to reduce damage caused by stroke and it has been found to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
This is really just scratching the surface of this incredible medicine. In Amanita Muscaria there is much less Muscimol than Ibotenic acid but when heat is applied amazingly Ibotenic acid in converted to Muscimol. This is done by drying the mushroom with warm air or simmering in water. The scientific term for this is decarboxylation. Chemically what happens is that during this process carbon dioxide is removed and with that removal the compound is changed. Now this is something that our ancestors all over the world have know for thousands of years and different cultures have different ways of achieving this. A few examples before ingesting were drying the mushrooms in the hot sun or simmering them in water multiple times discarding the water each time. Another method was to drink the urine of someone who has ingested the dried mushroom. The liver actually does the decarboxylation process and converts Ibotenic acid to Muscimol in small doses. Both of these compounds are water soluble so what ever is not taken up by the body in the stomach then moves on to the liver where Muscimol is passed straight through and Ibotenic acid is converted to Muscimol before ending up in the urine.
Some cultures dried the mushrooms and then removed the outer red skin which contains the highest concentration of Ibotenic acid and smoked the rest. The method we use is to dry the mushrooms in a dehydrator. This is very effective for preparing the mushrooms for micro-dosing. For higher doses we use a simmering method in addition to drying. This process is also useful in micro-dosing if you are taking them in the evening and having trouble sleeping as it will convert even more of the Ibotenic acid to Muscimol.
There is another compound found within Amanita Muscaria that I would like to touch on here and that is Muscarine. It mimics the function of the natural neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Low levels of acetylcholine are associated with Lyme disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia. There has been some research to show that it may be helpful in alleviating some of the effects of these diseases particularity around cognitive function and clarity.
This amazingly powerful mushroom is so diverse in its healing properties and its not surprising that is found growing on every continent of Mother Earth. Ever grateful for your incredible wisdom Amanita Muscaria.
written by Rikk Smith
Amanita Science references
Microdosing with Amanita Muscaria: Creativity, Healing, and Recovery with the Sacred Mushroom Paperback – 29 Sept. 2022
by Baba Masha (Author), James Fadiman Ph.D. (Foreword)
GABA potentiation: a logical pharmacological approach for the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke
A.Richard Green, ... David M. Jackson, in Neuropharmacology, 2000
Amanita muscaria extract potentiates production of proinflammatory cytokines by dsRNA-activated human microglia
Ashley Wagner 1, Marcus Pehar 1,2, Zhimin Yan 1, Marianna Kulka 1,2,* Front Pharmacol. 2023 Apr 12;14:1102465. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1102465
Muscimol as a treatment for nerve injury-related neuropathic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies
Hamzah Adel Ramawad 1, Parsa Paridari 2, Sajjad Jabermoradi 2, Pantea Gharin 2, Amirmohammad Toloui 2, Saeed Safari 3,✉, Mahmoud Yousefifard 2,✉
Korean J Pain. 2023 Sep 21;36(4):425–440. doi: 10.3344/kjp.23161
Fly Agaric Mushroom (briefly) Wednesday, 16 May 2012 original source: http://lymeuk.blogspot.com/2012/05/fly-agaric-mushroom.html