Embarking
on a journey of cutting-edge exploration, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona’s Faculty of Science and Technology is spearheading breakthroughs at the nexus of scientific discovery and technological innovation.

With a commitment to progress, the faculty’s scientists are delving into the mysteries of psychedelic fungi, which have the potential to revolutionise mental health treatment options.

“There is a growing demand for clinical use of mushrooms in group retreats and psychiatric treatments, as well as a burgeoning industry related to cultivation and product development,” said dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Michael Taylor.

In 2021 Field Trip Health, a Canadian entity which uses evidence-based, legal psychedelic therapies that help heal mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, invested in a refurbished laboratory in Jamaica, on the Mona campus of The UWI, with a mandate to stably cultivate numerous species of psilocybin mushrooms towards gaining insights into their biology and chemistry.

The lab, currently locally owned by the company Future Wellness, enables the cultivation of several species of psilocybin mushrooms for research and commercial purposes within the facility, which is now Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-certified.

“Psychedelic fungi are experiencing a surge in interest in recent years, particularly among patients under treatment for a variety of mental health issues. These include depression, anxiety disorder, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Jamaica is one of few places where research, cultivation and use of psilocybin is unrestricted. For this reason, the faculty has been consistent in its efforts to invest in the project and partner with external parties who also have a vested interest in the transformative solutions that this research brings,” said Professor Rupika Delgoda, who leads the faculty’s team of scientists pursuing the novel research.

That team includes Dr Kimberley Foster, Dr Isaac Morrison, and Dr William Irvine.

“Our research goals include optimising cultivation conditions for producing well-characterised biomass. We have established and published optimum growing conditions for cultivating genetically identified psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, to support the industry. The facility has also established protocols for potential industry standards (potency and safety) for products suitable for human consumption.

“We aim to extend such efforts to the myriad of other psychoactive fungal species as well as evaluate any novel biological activities in natural products expressed therein. We further aim to search for predictive outcomes of
in silico [experimentation performed by computer] generated substrates, inhibitors, and inducers using our recently generated molecular models of key enzymes in the psilocybin biosynthetic pathway, among other goals,” adds Professor Delgoda.

Since starting in 2021, the research team has made very promising discoveries which it is working to disseminate.

This groundbreaking work conducted by The UWI, Mona’s Faculty of Science and Technology not only pushes the boundaries of scientific exploration but also holds the potential, through local and international partnerships, to revolutionise mental health treatments, providing a beacon of hope for those grappling with the challenges of mental health disorders.