Psilocin is a substituted tryptamine alkaloid and a serotonergic psychedelic substance. It is present in most psychedelic mushrooms together with its phosphorylated counterpart psilocybin. Psilocin is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Acting on the 5-HT2A receptors, psilocin modulates the production and reuptake of serotonin. The mind-altering effects of psilocin are highly variable and subjective and resemble those of LSD and DMT.
Dried psilocybin mushrooms. (Notice the characteristic blue bruising by the stems of the mushrooms.)
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen or sulfur. More rarely still, they may contain elements such as phosphorus, chlorine, and bromine.
The first individual alkaloid, morphine, was isolated in 1804 from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum).
Friedrich Sertürner, the German chemist who first isolated morphine from opium.
Strychnine tree. Its seeds are rich in strychnine and brucine.
Crystals of piperine extracted from black pepper.