Well this test was fairly inclusive and will require some follow up. Here is the data, the flaws, some speculation, and the plan.
DATA

- Pretty much followed the process outlined above. The amount of the harvest was around 53 grams wet so I decided to go with 5 grams fresh per sample. 4 or the 8 samples were dehydrated for 24 hours to do the dry tests. The 5 grams fresh dried down to an average of 0.527 grams. I did a tiny bit of rebalancing so the dry tests all started from the exact same amount.
- I took before and after measurements for the reductions and used the inverse of the reduction to as a multiple of the measured potency to get the true potency of the tea. Potency reading / reduction inverse = potency unreduced tea.
- Using those calculations, the fresh tea without acids was more potent; the dry teas with acid were more potent; and the dried teas were all more potent than their fresh counterparts. (See flaws and speculation below)
Flaws
- I did the first test on a single sample that had been reduced to about 1/5th as planned. It proved that my assumption that reduction would be necessary to get the samples into the test reading range was wrong. However, by this point, I had already reduced all 4 fresh samples down to approx 1/5th. On the next round with the tea from dried material I tested some unreduced tea and confirmed that the reduction was unnecessary.
- In an attempt to minimize variables, though, I continued with the plan and reduced the tea for the dried samples the following day even though it wasn't necessary to get a reading.
- I messed up the timing and could not do the reductions for the same amount of time due to family obligations. So the fresh teas were reduced for 2 hours at 165f while the teas from dried were reduced in the dehydrator for 4 hours at 90f. So they are not the same. That is the first disqualification.
- Then after I got back from family business it was late and the 4 hours at 90f had not reduced the teas as much as the faster, hotter cycle with fresh. But it was getting late and I had the reduction inverse calculation to offset differences so I continued rather than scrap the whole thing. DQ #2.
- The final nail is that I retested the same sample of citric and ascorbic acid tea from dried before and after the reduction and using the handy dandy inverse reduction calculation I got a significant difference in potency readings. So either they inverse calculation is not reliable or a fair bit of potency was lost in the dehydration process, or something else. DQ #3
- I didn't bother wasting a test on the dried mush since it wouldn't really add anything to the experiment with all of these other issues.
Some Speculation Take the following with grain of salt as it is all guess work and observation from limited data.
- Reports are that fresh and acid baths give a more potent psychedelic experience. While these flawed results for fresh seem to contradict those observations I offer this as a possible explanation. All tests that I have seen indicate that the psilocin to psilocybin ratio is tiny, as in there is far more psilocybin than psilocin. However, the psychedelic effect of mushrooms comes entirely from the psilocin. The psilocybin needs to be converted to psilocin before it has an affect on us, either in the stomach or by chemical reaction before ingestion. The QTests that I am using only show the combined total of psilocin and psilocybin. So if the acidified teas have a higher psilocin content because some of the more available psilocybin has been converted, you would expect a lower total reading while still feeling a greater effect in the body.
- Going further out on a limb: For the dried mushrooms, it is accepted that most of the psilocin is destroyed in the drying process. So adding acid to convert some psilocybin to psilocin may increase the total actives. I don't feel very confident in this part, but thought I would toss it out there.
- Also, what was up with that loss in potency from reduction? I was under the impression that this would not be a factor. So that will be on the agenda for testing soon just as EniQma proposed. I should have enough of something laying around to test this one without waiting on a new grow.
The Plan
- Retest using unreduced teas.
- I learned a few things, so it was not a total loss.
- I don't plan to change much else except I will be using what ever variety that I grow next that isn't already slated for other experiments.
So that is how I spent some of my weekend, more to come when the next grow completes.
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Almost forgot to add pictures.
    Preparing fresh teas
    First sample of reduction tested before and after water bath for proof of concept. When it worked, I completed the other three. The before pix indicate the presents of psilocin by the blue-green color. My very logical and consistent labeling is O for 0 acid, C for citric(not vitamin C), A for ascorbic(actual vitamin C) & no label for citric & ascorbic.
   Preparation of the dried teas and the reduction.
 Reduced tea from dry. Note how dark the tea with no acid is. That is the bluing from oxidation of the psilocin that was reduced or eliminated in the acidified teas.
 Confirmation that the reductions step was completely unnecessary. Shoot me now.
  Before and after water bath, again, plenty of blue-green indicating the presence of psilocin in each. Label D for dry with 0 acid while A & C stayed the same(see, I told you that I am consistent), but then also labeled AC on the citric & ascorbic sample this time.
Tada!
-------------------- Stoned Gummys | BRF Pucks | Primo Reusable Plates | Easy LI 4 Preserv & Propo"Psychedelics are powerful substances. Nothing that powerful is completely safe... and nothing completely safe is that powerful!" - Abigail Calder at ALPS 2023
Don't Panic
Edited by ReverendMyc (03/31/25 04:51 PM)
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