Amanita citrina (A. bulbosa) is confirmed psychoactive!

[Knarkkorven]

Background:

During the past years I have been gathering european Amanita citrina (Amanita bulbosa var citrina) and Amanita citrina var. alba (Amanita bulbosa).

Photos of A. citrina:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496203-Img_5463.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496207-Img_5490.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/12-36/712522575-IMG_2181.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/12-36/712522592-IMG_2193.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/12-36/712522609-IMG_2194.jpg

A. citrina var. alba:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496210-Img_5492.jpg

Comparison:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496215-Img_5494.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496218-Img_5496.jpg
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-38/131496222-Img_5498.jpg


This is due to the reports in the literature about this species special chemistry. As you may know, psychoactive Amanitas are usually only considered being species that contain muscimol (like Amanita muscaria), but there are also a few species which contain bufotenine and traces of N,N-DMT.

Amanita citrina picked in Switzerland contained 0.8% bufotenin in the caps, 1.5% in the stipes, 0.065% in the bulbs (source: Stivje (1979), translation of Samorini/funghi italici )

Wieland et al. (1953) isolated 15g bufoteninpicrate (=7g bufotenine) from 100kg fresh Amanita mappa (=A. citrina) (source: Handbook of Mushroom Poisoning Diagnosis and Treatment)

As well, so far as Bufotenine goes, there is a report by Wieland and Motzel (1953) pertaining to Amanita muscaria, pantherina, and citrina. The presence of Bufotenine was then verified only for the species citrina, porphyria, and tomentelIa (Catalfolmo and Tyler, 1961; Tyler, 1961; Tyler and Groger, 1964b; Hoffer and Osmond, 1967; Eugster, 1968; Andary et al., 1978a, 1978b; Stijve, 1979; Perez-Silva and Aroche Alfonso, 1983; Bresinsky and Besl Regensburg, 1985.) There is probably a mistake due to contamination caused by carpophores of Amanita citrina. Bufotenine should be left out any way because it is not orally active (Fabing and Hawkins, 1956; Hoffer and Osmond, 1967; Schultes and Hofmann, 1980), and, according to some authors, not active at all.

...

Even without entering into the subject, it's worth mentioning the other three species of the genus Amanita which are somehow connected to the hallucinogenic substances: A. tomentelIa Kromb., A. citrina (Scheff.) S.F. Gray (syn. A. mappa (Batsch. ex Fr.) Quulet) and A. porphyria (A. & S. ex Fr.) Seer. (syn. A. recutita (Fr.) Gillet). In this species were found bufotenine and other compounds such as the psychotropic dimethyl-byptamine (DMT) (Catalfolmo & Tyler, 1961; Tyler, 1961; Hofmann, 1964; Tyler and Gr6ger, 1964; Eugster, 1968; Perez-Silva and Aroche Alfonso, 1983).
Source: Francesco Festi and Antonio Bianchi Shroomery - Overview of Amanita muscaria

Bufotenine, another central-acting substance, but only when administered parenterally, was isolated from a German specimen of Amanita citrina (A. mappa) and also reported to occur in A. muscaria and A. pantherina. Investigations of North American species revealed the presence of this indole in A. porphyria, A. tomentella, and A. citrina. It could not be detected in other Amanita species including A. muscaria and A. pantherina. Subsequent analyses of European A. citrina revealed the presence of several tryptamine derivatives in addition to bufotenine. Notable was the presence of N,N-dimethyltryptamine, a substance which is a psychotropic agent, but occurring in too low a concentration to produce any possible physiological activity of this mushroom. To date there is no indication of its existence in A. muscaria.
Source: UNODC UNODC - Bulletin on Narcotics - 1970 Issue 4 - 004

Amanita citrina(Schff.) S.F.Gray (A. mappa (Batsch ex. Fr.) Quelet)

Wieland & Motzel 1953 (European specimens) 0.045% (Stijve 1979 noted their inefficient procedure may have only recovered 10% of what was there.) Catafolmo & Tyler 1961 (North American specimens) Tyler 1961 (North American specimens) Tyler & Gröger 1964 (German specimens) Identified chromatographically. (Mycelium shown to contain 0.03%) Stijve 1979 (German, Dutch & Swiss specimens). Bufotenine was the major. Bufotenine concentrations were estimated from 0.70-1.5% using GLC and from 0.4-1.3% using tlc. Isolation: 0.8% in cap, 1.5% in stalk & 0.065% in bulb. Wurst et al. 1992 (0.0-1.899%)
Source: Keeper of the Trout http://accurateinformationmedia.com...impleTryptamines_2ndEd_2007_with_addendum.pdf

Method:

First of all, this is not meant to be a TEK, just a brief explanation.

I used acetone because it is prefered when dealing with bufotenine freebase, and calcium hydroxide due to it being used to get the supposed best bufotenine form (also used in traditional yopo preparations).

I had finally gathered 26g dried mushrooms (about 30 mushrooms). I pulverized them with a blender and extracted the alkaloids in boiling water four times. The water was filtered with cloth and reduced (boiled down). When it reached an amount of about 1/2 dl I added a few grams of calcium hydroxide and mixed it well. It was laid out on a plate to dry. The dry mass was grinded and extracted 3 times with acetone. The acetone was kept and dried on a plate to a black tar. Finally I added water and sodium hydroxide to the calcium/mushroom mixture and did an extraction with xylene to gather any DMT or other interesting tryptamines. The residue was waxy and brown in color.

Dry water extract, before grinding:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-001/997129218-a_citrina_extrakt_1.jpg

Left: xylene extraction, middle: last acetone pull right: acetone pulls with some particles...
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-001/997129279-a_citrina_extrakt_2.jpg

Xylene extract:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-001/997129283-a_citrina_extrakt_3.jpg

Acetone extract:
http://files.shroomery.org/files/14-001/997129289-a_citrina_extrakt_4.jpg

Result:

I used a home made vaporizer (made from a 12V car cigarette lighter with a fine metal net as a bowl, a glass jar as a chamber with a drilled hole in bottom of the jar and two in the lid (one for air inlet, and one to fit the lighter to the lid.) I have used this previously for DMT and bufotenine so I made sure I burned of any residue by heating it throughly.

First, the xylene extract was vaporized (about 10mg). Only weak effects.

Next, I vaporized 5mg of the black acetone extract. Weak but noticeable effects.

Finally, I vaporized 20-30mg (?) of the black acetone extract (1/3 of the total amount). It was hard to breath in, but I managed to do it and was rewarded with the expected effects. Mind: euphoria with a slight hint of nausea. Body: Deep relaxation, warm sweat pulses. I have no big doubts about it being bufotenine, since I have tried extracting it from Anadenanthera a few years ago, but I also found some differences worth mentioning: I didn't feel any "needles" in my face and no CEV:s at all. It reminded me more about 5-MeO-DMT which I find very similar to bufotenine (5-HO-DMT). I'm very unsure what to make about this. I will make comparisons with the yopo extract in the near future.

Conclusions:

This mushroom is quite hard to find and gather in enough amounts to make an extraction. I didn't do it for the drug effects, only to prove the concept. I think this is the first time anyone has reported experiences with psychoactive effects of Amanita citrina!!


I also would like to warn about the big risk of picking the wrong species. This species can easily be misidentified with some of the deadliest Amanitas on earth (Amanita phalloides and Amanita virosa) ! DON'T GO OUT HUNTING IT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE PROPER ID SKILLS!! If you want to try bufotenine, order some yopo instead.

I also would like to mention that extraction is the ONLY possible way to use this mushroom. Bufotenine is said to be more like a poison than drug when taken orally, or insufflated/inhaled in it's salt form. Eating mushrooms which by a mistake could be the most poisonous Amanita on earth would also, with high certainty, cause your death...

 

[null24]

Fascinating! Thank you for your research, once again, the bleeding edge of underground psychoactive research is right here folks. :thumb_up:

I'll do some research on my own of course, but I'm curious about this variety and it's presence in the pacific northwest US. I know of a local patch where i can harvest dozens of mature muscarias, but am not familiar with the citrinas. And you're right about the pantherina similarity, I'm not so confident in my id skills.

 

[Knarkkorven]

Amanita porphyria and Amanita Citrina (or a genetically very similar species) can be found in North America.
There are some question marks about the exact taxonomy/nomenclature here... which is commonly debated among mycologists in many cases due to some small differences between similar/same species from different continents.

See Home - Amanitaceae.org - Taxonomy and Morphology of Amanita and Limacella

Home - Amanitaceae.org - Taxonomy and Morphology of Amanita and Limacella

Amanitaceae, Amanita, Limacella. Identification. Determination. Specimens preparations. Scientific & lay descriptions, illustrations, & morphological & phylogenetic data for taxa of the largely ectomycorrhizal genus Amanita, the saprobic genus Limacella, and the family Amanitaceae (Agaricales...

www.amanitaceae.org

Amanita pantherina is not very similar, but I guess you wrote the wrong name here...

 

[lsDxMdmaddicThc]

I see similar mushrooms in abundance throughout the woods along my local cemetery during fall seasons.
With my luck, they're the Death Angels...
Awesome progress though, Knarkkorven!
The frontier has the best view.

 

[jamie]

If it is bufotenine, you can dissolve that final extract in 99% iso, and then salt out bufoteine fumarates by adding a mixture of fumaraic acid saturated iso to the solution..bufotenine fumarates will precipitate and then you can collect them and convert them back to freebase. This will clean them up.

Pure freebase bufotenine is very visual, even more than DMT. It sounds like you might have vaped a very low threshhold dose of bufotenine at most, or a low dose with a mixture of other things.

I personally do not find bufotenine and 5-MeO-DMT to be similar at all, but everyone is different.

Thanks for the good work!

 

[Felnik]

Great work but seems extremely risky as these mushrooms do look so
Similar to some of deadliest varieties of mushroom known .
How were you able to make an accurate ID ?
Microscope ?

 

[Knarkkorven]

lsDxMdmaddicThc: Great, but be careful, or you end up at that cemetery


jamie: I thought about salting it out with IPA and some acid, but I knew my extraction weren't 100% from the beginning, and risking to loose to much of the alkaloids in each step, I decided to stop when I got a good enough extract to smoke. I calculated that I would've gotten about 200-300mg, but it seems more like the end results was around 50mg or so... Poor extraction, poor mushroom potency, who knows? Perhaps the white variety (about 1/3 of the batch) don't have any tryptamines.

Regarding the similarity, I only have around 15 or so experiences of vaporized 5-OH-DMT from yopo, and only a few of synthetic 5-MeO-DMT almost 10 years ago. But I find them having effects closer each other than for example 4-HO-DMT and oral DMT. The physical body feeling, only minor visuals, sense of being in the empty void. Similarities of the 5-positioned kind . But like you say, experiences varies between people and perhaps I would find 5-MeO-DMT less similar today.


Felnik: Yeah, it freaked me out to in the beginning. But I consider myself being a experienced mushroom identifier/picker (although still an amateur in comparison with real pro's). Because of that, I made a couple of ID request threads on Shroomery, and was satisfied that some respected people agreed on the ID.

As a second measure (mostly to convince myself), the melting point (and boiling point) of alfa-Amanitin should be high enough to leave this toxin behind (if it is present) when vaporizing tryptamines on a much lower temperature. But don´t take that as a fact, it's just my speculations.

 

[null24]

I should have checked references, thanks for clearing possible misinformation. Pure amateur myco-admirer here.

This is great info, thanks. :thumb_up:

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Wieland et al. (1953) isolated 15g bufoteninpicrate (=7g bufotenine) from 100kg fresh Amanita mappa (=A. citrina)

Now I understand one of bufotenine's other names, mappine...!

 

[PsilocybeChild]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but thought this might be worth contributing, and perhaps why your extract was weak.

There is a nomenclatural nightmare surrounding this mushroom, which North American authors have long treated as "Amanita citrina," assuming it is the same as the European species that often bears the same name. However, for taxonomic reasons the correct name for the European species is actually Amanita bulbosa var. citrina--and that mushroom is, it turns out, distinct from the North American mushroom, leaving the taxonomically awkward Amanita citrina f. lavendula as the best North American name. To complicate matters, Amanita expert Rod Tulloss (2013) reports preliminary DNA results supporting the idea that the North American version of "Amanita citrina" is actually composed of at least three genetically distinct species, and suggests that we can expect "nomenclatural and taxonomic changes" in the near future.

Amanita citrina (MushroomExpert.Com)


I'm very interested in that species and A. porphyria. I've eaten a single specimen of A. porphyria I collected once.

 

[Prima Materia]

For anyone interested in the mushroom Amanita mappa/citrina for their psychoactive properties I recommend reading the PDF file in the attachement.

It contains information on the Meixner test for the presence of amatoxins and information on different trytpamines in the context of the test for toxins.

Why is it important ? Because Amanita mappa/citrina can be mistaken for the deadly species (Amanita phalloides, Amanita virosa, etc.) which contain amatoxins.