Miraculix has launched a groundbreaking study on the effects of different strains of psilocybin mushrooms, utilizing their innovative QTest kits to analyze potency and ingredients for more personalized and safe psychedelic experiences. This community-driven research aims to improve our understanding of how varying mushroom strains can influence therapeutic outcomes.
An exciting development has surfaced in the field of psychedelic research. Miraculix, creator of the world’s first at-home QTest, is releasing their new community research on the entourage effects of different psychedelic mushroom varieties.
This research brings new opportunities for journeyers to accessibly participate in pivotal psychedelic research, which will likely have an important impact on future clinical and therapeutic applications for these substances.
Miraculix’s drug testing kits, known as QTests, apply to a wide variety of substances, including psilocybin and magic mushrooms, LSD, and MDMA, and differ from standard reagent tests by providing specific data on both potency and active ingredients.
This allows journeyers to ensure not just the composition of their drug of choice but also the exact potency of each ingredient, allowing for a more tailored and safe experience.
Miraculix’s developer, Dr. Felix Blei, was kind enough to join us for a discussion around the advancements they are making in preliminary community research and how you can participate in the study as a psychedelic journeyer. You will also find, in this article, more details on the entourage effect and how QTests work.
”Do the therapeutic effects of different species of magic mushrooms differ from those of pure psilocybin? Do different strains of magic mushrooms have different therapeutic potential? Will future psychedelic therapy use the whole fungus or isolated psilocybin?” — Dr. Felix Blei
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Key Takeaways
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- Miraculix’s QTest kits allow users to measure the precise potency of active ingredients in psychedelic substances, moving beyond mere presence detection to ensure safer usage.
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- The research explores the “entourage effect” in psilocybin mushrooms, suggesting that various compounds within the mushrooms may synergistically enhance therapeutic effects.
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- Participants in the study can contribute from home by using QTest kits and completing a questionnaire, which will help gather data on the different experiences induced by various mushroom strains.
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- Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators and psychedelic-assisted therapy near you in the United States.
What QTests Are: How Are They Different Than Reagent Tests?
Recommending Reading: How to Test Potency of Psychedelics at Home: Mushrooms, LSD, MDMA
QTests are quantitative reagent test kits that precisely measure the potency of the active ingredients in psychedelic substances like MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin mushrooms.
These tests differ from traditional qualitative kits, which only detect the presence of substances, by providing precise measurements of potency in milligrams or as a percentage.
This precision is crucial for users needing accurate dosage information for therapeutic or recreational purposes, ensuring safer and more consistent consumption experiences.
The reliability of QTests has been validated through comparisons with professional laboratory methods, which are further detailed in our article linked at the beginning of this section. This reliability makes QTests a highly effective tool for individuals seeking to verify their psychedelic substances conveniently at home.
Most importantly, what sets QTests apart from other reagent tests is precisely what makes it the perfect tool to use as a meter stick for determining whether or not the entourage effect is relevant for the use of psychedelic mushroom varieties.
Isolating Variables: The Entourage Effect & Psychedelic Mushrooms
Recommending Reading: Can Psilocybin Mushroom Strain Predict Effect Differences?
The term “entourage effect” was first introduced in 1998 by Israeli scientists Shimon Ben-Shabat and Raphael Mechoulam, who used it to describe how various compounds found in cannabis interact synergistically to modulate the overall psychoactive effects of the plant.
Rather than the effects of cannabis being due solely to THC or CBD, the entourage effect suggests that the broader spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other chemical constituents work together to enhance therapeutic outcomes, reduce side effects, and influence the pharmacokinetics of each other.
This concept has since played a crucial role in understanding and advancing the medicinal applications of cannabis. Producers and consumers often prefer full-spectrum extracts over isolates, believing that products containing a variety of constituents are more effective than those containing a single compound.
This preference is supported by some clinical research suggesting that whole-plant cannabis extracts offer better therapeutic profiles than their isolated counterparts due to the entourage effect (Zentrela, 2023).
However, others in the research community suggest that studies are far from conclusive on the existence of this synergistic effect of bioactive and bio-inactive compounds (Christensen et al., 2023).
During our interview with Miraculix’s Dr. Blei, he shared, “In the cannabis world, you already know that there are different players…There are the terpenes. There are riboflavin and THC and all the other cannabinoids, and we should expect the same in magic mushrooms.”
He went on to say, “There are other metabolites and molecules inside which could potentially influence the effects and…could be interesting for the therapeutic outcomes,” and this certainly could have an impact on people aiming to have a particular type of sensory or emotional experience or use them for mental health.
Similar to cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms contain multiple compounds, including psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, and norbaeocystin, among others. These compounds might also interact synergistically to enhance and modulate the psychoactive and therapeutic effects experienced during a psychedelic session.
”We can really compare the same amount of psilocybin and the effects it produced…with measuring the concentration we can eliminate potency for being the reason because we can normalize the potency and really see if the difference is due to strain or species,” he said.
Lastly, this effect has never been studied before in psilocybin mushrooms, and Miraculix is making all this possible with their QTests and novel questionnaire which isolates variables like gender, body weight, and amount of active constituents when assessing the intensity and quality of the individual psychedelic experience.
Interviewing Miraculix’s Dr. Blei & Their Community Research Questionnaire
In our interview with Dr. Blei, he shared so succinctly when asked what his hypothesis was behind creating the questionnaire: “My hypothesis is that different mushroom strains or mushrooms species which contain psilocybin (and there are over more than 200 species already described worldwide) have different experiences despite people using the same amount of psilocybin.”
Dr. Blei’s Miraculix, in conjunction with Charité’s Psychedelic Substances Research Group out of Berlin, developed a novel questionnaire to assess how much psilocybin and other active constituents are ingested in comparison to the experiential effects felt according to three categories: senses, mind, and mood.
Sensory alterations, of course, would include changes in vision, hearing, tactile sensations, taste, and smell (changes in the five senses), while the mind category is described as being “alteration in cognition and body perception.” The mood category simply encompasses changes in emotions.
The questionnaire was ethically approved and validated against the 5D-ASC, and is set to run, really, just until enough data is collected, which, according to Dr. Blei, is around 100 participants per relevant variety. You can find more about the study on their community research page.
“We will run for a few years…At least we can run it for two years minimum, but we can also assign the data in between and already look into the data, so we don’t have to wait the full two years and can already see after a couple of months,” he said.
If you’re anxiously waiting for these results, do keep in mind that the full publication process takes around a year to complete, and Dr. Blei estimated a total of two to three years for the full completion of the study. Luckily, the more participants, the quicker the data can be analyzed and released for public viewing.
Something we loved about Miraculix’s approach to research is their commitment to accessibility, from making the questionnaire easily understandable to making the results freely accessible with no pay walls.
“The goal is to publish the results freely through Miraculix with open access and free and available. That research is shared freely. And publish in a peer reviewed journal to convince science of this but focus on community over money,” Dr. Blei said.
”The other questionnaires used words which were hard to understand for a self-questionnaire, and this was the reason to make a questionnaire that everyone understands. So we made a preliminary questionnaire on Instagram…
In the end we really went the novel way to make a new questionnaire…The goal is to bring the world a new tool to really see the difference between strains…and hopefully this will be also used in medical studies and science in the future,” he said.
The overarching “why” behind this research seems to be the implications on therapeutic usages, especially for depression, addiction, PTSD, and more.
How to Participate in Miraculix’s Study
By participating in Miraculix Lab’s community research, you’ll be contributing to a deeper understanding of psychedelic substances, potentially benefiting many like yourself.
Whether you used psilocybin or other psychedelics, your experience can provide valuable insights. This research seeks to investigate how different mushroom strains affect users differently, potentially guiding more targeted uses in therapeutic or personal settings. By sharing your QTest results and responding to a questionnaire, you’ll help connect the dots between potency and the effects experienced.
Joining this study offers a unique way to contribute to groundbreaking research from the comfort of your own home. With ethical approval secured, you can rest assured that all data is collected anonymously, ensuring your privacy and confidentiality.
This will not only contribute to scientific literature; it will generate knowledge that is directly applicable and beneficial to individuals like you who are exploring psychedelics. This kind of community-driven research is rare, and your involvement could significantly impact how psychedelics are understood and used in everyday contexts. Thank you to those that choose to pay it forward by participating.
How to Participate in The Questionnaire:
1. Purchase & Use a QTest
To get started, you’ll need to purchase your own QTest kit. Each kit includes all necessary reagents and instructions for testing your substances:
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- Christensen, C. et al. (2023) Decoding the postulated entourage effect of medicinal cannabis: What it is and what it isn’t, Biomedicines. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10452568/ (Accessed: 22 April 2024).
- CUSICTM Study publication #6 (2023) Zentrela. Available at: https://zentrela.com/publication/cusic-6/ (Accessed: 22 April 2024).
Note: For the questionnaire, you may also use other testing so long as it shows accurate necessary results.
2. Test Your Medicine & Save the Results
Once you have your QTest kit, follow the included instructions to test your psychedelic substance. For the most accurate record keeping, take a clear picture of your test results immediately after completing the test. This image will serve as a record of the composition and potency of the substance you tested.
3. Remember Your Psychedelic Experience
After testing and using your substance, it may be helpful to document some of the major aspects of the experience, especially if you can summarize according to the categories of sensory, mind, and mood alterations. You will later be able to refer back (either mentally or literally) during the questionnaire.
It’s also crucial that your experience is done in the right environment and with the right support. Whether you are choosing to journey alone or with a professional sitter, we hope that you will take time to really adequately prepare, especially if you’re a first-time journeyer.
Recommended Reading: Do You Really Need a Psychedelic Guide?
4. Complete the Questionnaire
After your experience, you can complete the questionnaire. Share your QTest results and complete the questionnaire provided. The questionnaire will cover various aspects of your experience, focusing on how the actual effects compared to the expected potency and purity indicated by your QTest.
