TY - JOUR
T1 - Introduction to the chemistry and pharmacology of psychedelic drugs
AU - Walker, Scott R.
AU - Pullella, Glenn A.
AU - Piggott, Matthew J.
AU - Duggan, Peter J.
N1 - Funding Information:
GAP and MJP gratefully acknowledge financial, logistical and intellectual support from Emyria Ltd.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
PY - 2023/7/5
Y1 - 2023/7/5
N2 - The science of psychedelics is an intriguing, multi-disciplinary field that has recently been the subject of heightened public interest. This has mainly resulted from publicity associated with a number of high-profile investigations into psychedelic-assisted therapy for a range of difficult-to-treat mental health conditions. With many psychedelic substances known, including natural, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic, and a rangeof receptors, enzymes and transporters implicated in their modes of action, although very interesting, the field can appear daunting to newcomers to the area. This Primer Review is designed to give an overview of the chemistry and pharmacology of psychedelics. It is hoped that it will provide a useful resource for science undergraduates, postgraduates and their instructors, and experienced scientists who require a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the field. The Review begins with a summary of the important classes of psychedelics and then goes on to summarise the known history of their traditional human use, dating back to prehistoric times. Following that, important classes of psychedelics are examined in more detail, namely the ergolines, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), tryptamines like psilocybin and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, phenethylamines typified by mescaline and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), arylcyclohexylamines including ketamine and phenylcyclohexylpiperidine (PCP), and a group of naturally occurring drugs that do not belong to any of these three classes, examples being muscimol and salvinorin A. The contributions made by early pioneers like Albert Hofmann and Alexander Shulgin are briefly summarised. References to primary literature and more specialised reviews are provided throughout.
AB - The science of psychedelics is an intriguing, multi-disciplinary field that has recently been the subject of heightened public interest. This has mainly resulted from publicity associated with a number of high-profile investigations into psychedelic-assisted therapy for a range of difficult-to-treat mental health conditions. With many psychedelic substances known, including natural, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic, and a rangeof receptors, enzymes and transporters implicated in their modes of action, although very interesting, the field can appear daunting to newcomers to the area. This Primer Review is designed to give an overview of the chemistry and pharmacology of psychedelics. It is hoped that it will provide a useful resource for science undergraduates, postgraduates and their instructors, and experienced scientists who require a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the field. The Review begins with a summary of the important classes of psychedelics and then goes on to summarise the known history of their traditional human use, dating back to prehistoric times. Following that, important classes of psychedelics are examined in more detail, namely the ergolines, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), tryptamines like psilocybin and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, phenethylamines typified by mescaline and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), arylcyclohexylamines including ketamine and phenylcyclohexylpiperidine (PCP), and a group of naturally occurring drugs that do not belong to any of these three classes, examples being muscimol and salvinorin A. The contributions made by early pioneers like Albert Hofmann and Alexander Shulgin are briefly summarised. References to primary literature and more specialised reviews are provided throughout.
KW - arylcyclohexylamines
KW - ergolines
KW - hallucinogens
KW - natural products chemistry
KW - phenethylamines
KW - psychedelics
KW - receptors
KW - tryptamines
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165592381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1071/CH23050
DO - 10.1071/CH23050
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85165592381
SN - 0004-9425
VL - 76
SP - 236
EP - 257
JO - Australian Journal of Chemistry
JF - Australian Journal of Chemistry
IS - 5
ER -