Potency changes between flushes?

[ANON]

I'm wondering if potency can change between flushes. On the first flush of my first grow, the potency wasn't the greatest. However, on the second flush I had assumed the potency would be the same, and so I took a little more to get to the level I wanted, and it overwhelmed me a little bit (not that i'm complaining).

[Hippie3]

Results

We found that the levels of psilocybin varied somewhat unpredictably from one flush to the next, but generally were much the same on the last flush as they were on the first flush (Table 1). Psilocin, on the other hand, generally was absent in the first one or two flushes, each maximixed by the fourth flush, and then appeared to start to decline (Table 1). Unfortunately, we could generally not follow the decline appreciably since five flushes is normally the maximum we can get before the mycelium stops fruiting. (With miniculture 1, we obtained a sixth flush but the fifth flush was totally consumed in another experiment and is not reported here.)

In two other strains grown by other sources, we also observed nearly complete absence of psilocin in the first flush . In These, we analyzed the caps and stems separately and found that the caps generally contained twice as much psilocybin as the stems, but that the small amount of psilocin present was entirely in the stems (Table 2). In contrast, our Amazon strai hasd a trace of psiloin in the cap but not in the stem. The cap and stem contained equal amounts of psilocybin.

Finally, we analyzed five street samples of Psilocybe cubensis for which we did not know the flush number or the precise growing conditions (Table 3). We found highly variable levels of psilocybin and low levels of psilocin.

TABLE 1
The dry weight variation of psilocybin and psilocin levels in Psilocybe cubensis as a function of flush number (quantified by HPLC.
Miniculture No. 1
Psilocybein—Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)
1 8.3---------------0.5
2 6.5---------------1.5
3 13.3---------------1.0
4 4.8---------------2.6
5 --/--------------/--
6 6.8---------------0.5

Miniculture No. 2
Psilocybin—Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)
1 5.1---------------0
2 7.3---------------0
3 4.7---------------1.7
4 3.7---------------2.9
5 5.2---------------2.2
6 --/--------------/--

Miniculture No. 3
Psilocybin—Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)
1 7.6---------------0
2 6.2---------------0
3 5.3---------------0.9
4 3.2---------------1.8
5 6.7---------------1.7
6 --/--------------/--

TABLE 2
Distribution of psilocybin and psilocin in the cap versus the stem in three strains of Psilocybe cubensis cultivated on rye-grain substrate
M. R. strain-
First flush
Psilocybin Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)

Caps 9.7---------0
Stems 4.2---------0.35


Equadorian Strain
First flush
Psilocybin Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)

Caps 7.6--------0
Stems 4.7--------0.4


Amazon Strain
First flush
Psilocybin Psilocin
(mg/g) (mg/g)

Caps 5.7--------0.1
Stems 5.7--------0


TABLE 3
Psilocybin and psilocin levels in dried psilocybe cubensis "street samples" (all samlples were from material cultivated on a rye-grain substrate)

Sample Psilocybin Psilocin
No. (mg/g) (mg/g)
1---------------5.6----------------0
2---------------6.2----------------0
3---------------0.7----------------0.3
4---------------0.7----------------0.3
5---------------1.3----------------0.3

Conclusions


We found that the level of psilocybin and psilocin varies over a factor of four among various cultures of Psilocybe cubensis grown under rigidly controlled conditions, while specimens from outside sources varied tenfold. IT is clear that entheogenic (Ruck et al., 1979) and recreational users of this species have no way of predicting the amount of psilocybin and psilocin that they are ingesting with a given dry weight of the mushrooms. It thus seems likely that variations in the subjective experience will not only come from the effects of set and setting but will also stem in very real measure rom large dosage differences.

cf. http://archives.mycotopia.net/discus.../5/139855.html

[ANON]

thanks hippie.