Psilocybin, the ingredient in magic mushrooms that causes psychedelic hallucinations, may have anti-aging properties, suggests a new study published in the journal Aging.
Researchers at Emory University showed that the lifespan of human lung and skin cells was extended by more than 50 percent when exposed to psilocin, the metabolized form of psilocybin. Additionally, life-extending and anti-aging effects were observed in older mice treated with psilocybin.
Psychedelics Could Do More For the Body
Research into psychedelic compounds has undergone a global renaissance in the last decade. Small clinical trials suggesting these compounds could act as effective and novel therapies for a range of psychiatric disorders increased hype around the drugs. After a high-profile failure of one leading drug trial, the sentiment has shifted, but the field has opened the doors to studying these drugs’ effects beyond mental health.
Psilocybin activates serotonin receptors. While these are concentrated in the brain, they are also found throughout the body. Despite this, few studies have investigated how activating these peripheral receptors might affect whole-body physiology.
The research team, based at Emory University, exposed lung cells to two concentrations of psilocin. At a lower concentration, psilocin extended lifespan by 29 percent. At the higher concentration, the cells lived for 57 percent longer. Psilocin enhanced anti-aging molecular markers, such as the aging regulator sirtuin 1, while indicators of pro-aging processes, like oxidative stress, were reduced.
Telomeres, protective caps found at the end of chromosomes, are worn down as we age. While the telomeres of aged control cells were shortened compared to those of young cells, the researchers found that psilocin-treated cells had telomeres that were unmarked by time. The extension in lifespan was replicated in skin cells.
“This study opens a new frontier for how psilocybin could influence systemic aging processes, particularly when administered later in life,” said Louise Hecker, the study’s senior author and an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, in a press release.
Read More: Psilocybin Use Increases in the U.S. for Those with Chronic and Mental Health Conditions
Psilocybin Slows Aging in Mice and Helps Their Fur
The scientists next extended their study to in vivo models, examining how psilocybin affected 19-month-old mice, an age roughly equivalent to that of a 60-to 65-year-old human. The research team treated the mice for over ten months, giving them one dose per month.
Mice that were administered the compound showed the classic “head-twitch” response, which psychedelic researchers speculate is a rodent reaction to hallucinations. After ten months, the results showed that the mice given psilocibin had a higher survival rate — at 80 percent — while the control group had about a 50 percent survival rate.
The researchers found this was a statistically significant difference. The researchers also noted that psilocybin-treated mice had darker and thicker coats after ten months of treatment compared to the start of the study. However, they did not measure this change quantitatively.
“Even when the intervention is initiated late in life in mice, it still leads to improved survival, which is clinically relevant in healthy aging,” said Hecker.
Overcoming Obstacles to Psychedelic Medicine
These remain preliminary findings — each arm of the mice study used approximately 30 animals — and further research will be needed to confirm these results. Restrictions around the use of psilocybin in research and recreationally will also currently limit the drug’s clinical use.
But the research team hopes that their results are borne out in further research and that the political weather around the use of psychedelic compounds changes. The global anti-aging market is estimated to hit $140 billion by 2034.
“This study provides strong preclinical evidence that psilocybin may contribute to healthier aging — not just a longer lifespan, but a better quality of life in later years,” Ali John Zarrabi, a study co-author and director of psychedelic research at Emory University’s Department of Psychiatry, said in a press release.
Read More: Microdosing Psychedelics as Treatment Could Increase Flexible Thinking
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Aging. Psilocybin treatment extends cellular lifespan and improves survival of aged mice
Precedence Research. Anti-aging Market Size and Forecast 2025 to 2034
RJ Mackenzie is a freelance science reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland. He covers biological and biomedical science, with a focus on the complexities and curiosities of the brain. He has degrees in neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Cambridge. He has written for National Geographic, Nature, and The Scientist, among other publications.
