Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is an indole-based secondary metabolite produced by numerous species of mushrooms. South American Aztec Indians referred to them as teonanacatl, meaning "god's flesh," and they were used in religious and healing rituals. Spanish missionaries in the 1500s attempted to destroy all records and evidence of the use of these mushrooms. Nevertheless, a 16th century Spanish Franciscan friar and historian mentioned teonanacatl in his extensive writings, intriguing 20th century ethnopharmacologists and leading to a decades-long search for the identity of teonanacatl. Their search ultimately led to a 1957 photo-essay in a popular magazine, describing for the Western world the use of these mushrooms. Specimens were ultimately obtained, and their active principle identified and chemically synthesized. In the past 10-15 years several FDA-approved clinical studies have indicated potential medical value for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy in treating depression, anxiety, and certain addictions. At present, assuming that the early clinical studies can be validated by larger studies, psilocybin is poised to make a significant impact on treatments available to psychiatric medicine.

中文翻译：

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蛇柏素：从古代魔术到现代医学。

气胞素（4-磷酰氧基-N，N-二甲基色胺）是一种由多种蘑菇产生的基于吲哚的次级代谢产物。南美的阿兹台克印第安人称它们为teonanacatl，意为“神的肉”，它们被用于宗教和康复仪式中。1500年代的西班牙传教士试图销毁所有使用这些蘑菇的记录和证据。然而，一个16世纪的西班牙方济会修道士和历史学家在他的著作中提到teonanacatl，这使20世纪的民族药理学家很感兴趣，并导致长达数十年的对teonanacatl身份的搜寻。他们的搜寻最终导致了1957年一本流行杂志上的照片文章，为西方世界描述了这些蘑菇的用法。最终获得了标本，及其活性成分已鉴定并化学合成。在过去的10到15年中，数项FDA批准的临床研究表明，psilocybin辅助心理治疗在治疗抑郁症，焦虑症和某些成瘾方面具有潜在的医学价值。目前，假设早期的临床研究可以通过较大的研究验证，则psilocybin有望对精神病学治疗产生重大影响。