extracting psilocybin crystals

[spooner]

So first off I wasnt really sure where to post this, but SWIM performed an experiment to extract psilocybin crystals using the same methods to pull red DMT. SWIM does not expect this to work in any way but was just trying it to see the results. SWIM took 10g dried P. Cubensis and ground it up and added to 75 ml of water with a gram citric acid disolved in it. SWIM then mixed in 20g of disolved lye, while still warm SWIM added Xylene to where it covered the base material about 1/2 inch. SWIM shook the jar gently every hour for an entire day and is now waiting for the layers to seperate to pull the Xylene layer and evap. The only problem is there is 6 different layers seperating, will this experiment most likely work or fail, and why?

 

[spooner]

anyone?

 

[DiMiTriX]

i think it could work if u did the extraction right..about emulsion,if u have the stuff in the non polar layer you can let the jar rest overnight,than separate the NP layer..and put a good amount of anydrous sodium carbonate ( put some baking soda in the owen at max temperature for a while,or put some of it in a pot without water and heat it with flame mixing it till it become whiter and fkn hot) let the carbonate cool. take some of it and put in the NP solvent..it will adsorb water from emulsion and also trap the impurities! it works greatly for swim to get white crystal clear spice. for psylocibyn would be the same i guess..why not!

don't put too much of carbonate in the solution..just put till u see the NP solvent become white and clear and u should be ok! if u put too much it will absorb a lot of NP solvent and u will have problems than to separate all of the solvent with the goods. you will loose some stuff for sure :roll:

that's all! hope it will help you

 

[Pup Tentacle]

There are a few different threads on this subject that cover A LOT of stuff. Apparently psilocybin isn't as easy to extract as other alkaloids. Unless you have a kick-ass chemistry set, a highly active goo is where you're headed.

Peace & Blessings

PT

 

[spooner]

swim is completly new to these processes, so swim is a little confused lol. So wait for the xylene layer to completely seperate then siphon off, add a little bit of sodium carbonate then what?

 

[Hyperdimensional Cuttlefish]

The thread below shows the best way to accomplish what you wanted. I doubt you will get much use out of your process.

methanol extraction - Preparation - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

That being said, if you do get something useful, post results by all means.

 

[spooner]

awesome thank-you, do you think siphoning the xylene layer off then evaping that and re-crystalizing then an acetone wash would work?

 

[Hyperdimensional Cuttlefish]

Well, I think you're gonna have a goo regardless, so be prepared to "wash" some liquid. I hear the crystals are sugars, not psychoactive stuff. I've only messed with etoh extraction myself since I don't want to build a column or a rotovap...yet.

 

[Kyle109]

Psilocybe Mushroom Extractions

Dear Dr. Shulgin:

A friend of mine performed a Soxhlet extraction of 12 grams of powdered Psilocybe cubensis, using 95% ethanol. When the 60 mL of extract cooled to room temperature, many small transparent, colorless crystals had formed on the bottom of the container and did not redissolve on agitation. Do you know what these crystals are? -- Journeyman

Dear Journeyman:
There is a fascinating report in the literature that gives a quantitative measurement of the efficiency of extraction of both psilocybin and psilocin from the mushroom Psilocybe bohemica. The citation to the article is Kysilka, R. and Wurst, M., Planta Med. Vol. 56 pp. 327-328 (1990). These Czechoslovakian scientists studied the efficiency of both methanol and ethanol as solvents, each containing varying amounts of water. The results were, to me, both unexpected and most provocative.

The isolation of psilocybin seemed to be quite reasonable. This alkaloid is reasonably soluble in boiling water from which it can be nicely crystallized. It is less soluble in boiling methanol, and almost insoluble in boiling ethanol. And the extraction efficiency is optimum with methanol and almost as good with ethanol. With both, the less water present, the better. The compound is, after all, a perfect example of a zwitterion, the internal salt of a phosphoric acid and an amine base.

But the numbers with psilocin are strange. With aqueous ethanol, the optimum extraction was with a 70% ethanol concentration, and the extraction efficiency dropped almost to zero when there was no water present. But methanol was extremely inefficient regardless of the amount of water present in it. These researchers were apparently surprised by these findings, as they explored further and uncovered other clues. Time is a factor. Psilocin is extracted at a much slower rate than is psilocybin because it is contained intracellularly in the plant, and thus slower to be gotten out. They conclude that many of the low psilocin assays of mushrooms are due to this difficulty of getting the alkaloid out of the plant and into the extracting solvent. Using this information they determined that the levels of psilocybin and psilocin are substantially the same in Psilocybe bohemica, in conflict with the published literature values where very small amounts of psilocin were observed.

Efficient extraction apparently requires patience.

As to the identity of the crystals that were drifting around in the cooled Soxhlet receiver, from their being insoluble in ethanol, and white, and transparent, I would guess that you are seeing pure psilocybin.

-- Dr. Shulgin

Link

 

[Vodsel]

^^ These statements by Shulgin were discussed in this thread. Particularly the "pure psilocybin" bit.

 

[Hyperdimensional Cuttlefish]

I tend to go with benzyme and others re: extracting psilocybin/psilocin.

It seems prohibitively difficult, but the "holy grail" of a consistent extraction for vaporization purposes that can be replicated and performed by the masses.... lord.

 

[General Gypsy]

Edited

 

[Gone-and-Back]

If I remember correctly I read somewhere on here that you should do a wash with I believe naptha? Then Chloroform, but since this is not readily available DCM can be used instead, and THEN use ethanol or methanol to extract the goodies from the plant material after the washes have gotten the unwanted gunk out?

Maybe it was acetone and not naptha...I shall have to do some searching and find a link.

 

[Gone-and-Back]

psilocybin extraction/tincture tek - Cultivation - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

Nen mentions the Albert Hoffman papers on Psilocybin and Psilocin extraction into crystals in post #20. Later describes the process simply in post #30.

Somewhere in between he claims to have done this and produced a product that was able to be vaporized and was active in doing so. This seems like the best way to go for a home chemist to extract. Just change out the chloroform for DCM. I believe that is discussed somewhere later in that threat as well, and says why it would work. Something about them being very similar and in the same class of chemicals.

I plan on trying this whenever I have the time and resources needed to do so. Would make it easy to transport the goodies instead of having to carry around fungal matter or tea in bottles. I try to not dose at home but instead in the woods or other places, so this would be preferable.

Hope this helps.

 

[Cognitive Heart]

Perfection - fresh erowid monthly report.

 

[1ce]

From a quick peek at this it sounds like you can get away with just refluxing or soxhleting in boiling water (vac distill off the water if you have the capability) and wash impurities out with ethanol. Obviously the dryer the better. Maybe a denatured alcohol wash with methanol/ethanol.

I had an additional thought here, most synthesis should include a mp range for pure crystals or some other test one can do. Do you have access to a melting point apperatus?