The Mind-Bending Mushroom: Expanding Consciousness of Psychedelic Alkaloids as Medicinal Tools

Mushrooms have been used in medicinal and spiritual practices by Indigenous cultures around the world for several millennia. Because of renewed interest in entheogenic plant molecules as therapeutics, there is a large body of research building around psychedelic alkaloids found in the fungi kingdom. These fungi have captured our imagination and lie at the heart of scientific, health and even political movements, from Life Magazine to Mario Brothers and project MK-Ultra. Listen as Danielle St. Germaine, a scientist from Cayman’s Forensic Chemistry Division, discusses the history, chemistry, and pharmacology behind some of the most notorious alkaloids in human history - Claviceps Purpurea, Psilocybe Cubensis and Amanita Muscaria.