Study Finds Synthetic Shrooms Aren't As Effective as the Real Deal

Science validates what plant-medicine experts already knew: whole mushrooms work better.

A study published in Nature last February compared the effects of a synthetic psilocybin concentrate (PSIL) with a full-spectrum psilocybin-containing mushroom extract (PME). 

The researchers used 3 key metrics to compare the two psilocybin preparations:

1. Head Twitch Response — A marker for acute psychedelic effects.

2. Neuroplastic Synaptic Proteins — Indicators of brain rewiring and adaptability.

3. Frontal Cortex Metabolomics — Offers insight into biochemical changes in the brain tied to energy use and neurotransmission.

What researchers found offers a compelling case for the superiority of simple, all-natural magic mushrooms over their synthetic counterparts.

Let's dig into the study to explore what the researchers discovered, where synthetic psilocybin falls short, and why reductionist thinking so often fails in plant medicine research.