How the body breaks down psilocybin and psilocin and why it matters for medical and legal testing

Psilocybin is primarily converted to psilocin, an active metabolite involved in its psychoactive effects.

• Psilocybin and psilocin are hallucinogenic compounds found in magic mushrooms.
• Both compounds act as agonists or partial agonists at serotonin receptors.
• Considerable physiological variability among individuals may affect their dose-response and toxicity.
• Psilocin is the main psychoactive component resulting from the metabolism of psilocybin.
• The primary urinary metabolite of psilocin, psilocin-O-glucuronide, has clinical and forensic relevance.

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