Molecular affinities
The choice of this title is not innocent, it is a reference to a famous book by Goethe which explains human behavior and in particular love as chemistry between molecules which have affinities and combine to lead to something larger, bigger. The approach here is similar with this central question: why such an affinity of psychedelic molecules with consciousness, depth psychology, the spiritual, ...
Let's start by better observing the structures of these molecules before understanding their neurophysiological mode of action.
C12H16N2
Name: dimethyltryptamine
Natural origin: numerous plants including chacruna
Summary? Yes, for the first time in 1931 , by the Canadian chemist of Berlin origin Richard Helmuth Frederick Manske
Taking method:
Inhalation: smoked
Insufflation: snuffed
Ingestion combined with an MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor which prevents the destruction of monoamines such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, etc. by enzymes present in the stomach)
DMT
Name: 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine
Natural origin: Sonaura Desert toad
Summary? Yes, it was first synthesized in 1936 .
Taking method:
Inhalation: smoked by vaporization of the crystals
Injection
Particularity: the molecule is contained in the toad's venom but the active principle of the venom is neutralized during heating to allow the 5MeO-DMT to be absorbed
C13H18N2O
5MeO-DMT
C12H17N2O4P
Psilocybin
Name: 4-hydroxydimethyltryptamine
Natural origin: mushrooms or truffles
Summary? Psilocybin was isolated by Albert Hofmann in 1958 from the sclerotia of Psilocybe mexicana.
Taking method:
Injection or absorption
Content in mushrooms: The psilocin/psilocybin contents in "Psilocybe cubensis" are of the order of 0.14–0.42%/0.37–1.30% in the whole mushroom (0.17–0. .78%/0.44–1.35% in the stem), respectively.
Dosage: A psychotropic effect appears from 1 mg of psilocybin even if common doses vary from 4 to 10 mg. We can see in the reports the catch of 13 to 26 mushrooms in Mexico.
C11H17NO3
Mescaline
Name: trimethoxyphenethylamine
Natural origin: cactus (Peyote, San Pedro ...)
Summary? isolated and identified only in 1894 by Arthur Heffter, then synthesized in 1919 by Ernst Späth
Taking method:
Absorption
Content in cacti: 1 to 6% for peyote, 0.3 to 1.3% for San Pedro
Dosage: 4mg/kg (i.e. 6 to 10 peyote buds or 25-30 cm of columnar cactus)
C20H25N3O
LSD
Name: Lysergic acid diethylamide
Synthesis: from other ergot derivatives in 1938 then in 1943 by Albert Hofmann and Arthur Stoll at Sandoz in Basel , Switzerland
Taking method:
Absoption - most common way blotter
Dosage: 4mg/kg (5000 times less than mescaline for example)
By examining each of these molecules, we notice similarities, especially for the first 3: two identical hexagonal and pentagonal structures as well as the presence of amine... which we find in serotonin below represented...
Some research suggests that DMT is produced naturally in very small amounts by the pineal gland, also known as the epiphysis. Usually, this gland produces melatonin, a biological clock molecule, but with strong hormonal stress, some authors suggest that it stops this synthesis to produce endogenous DMT.
Serotonin
Name: 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT
Serotonin was identified in 1946, under the name enteramine, by the Italian pharmacologist Vittorio Erspamer.
It is a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and in the intramural plexuses of the digestive tract. Its activity begins in the brain where it plays the role of neurotransmitter and an essential role. It is particularly involved in the management of moods and is associated with the state of happiness,
C10H12N2O
