Amanita Lloydii

Panther potion using Racette TEK— method for rapid decarboxylation of ibotenic acid

From Amanita Truths Facebook group

This is an explanation of the low-pH simmer method to achieve rapid decarboxylation of ibotenic acid, as shown in 1985 (2.7 pH at 100C for 2.3 hours) [1] and successfully repeated in 1993 (4.0 pH at 100C for ~2 hours) [2], 2012 (2.6 pH at 195-212F for 3 hours) [3], and numerous times by synthetic organic chemist Dirk Digglar (found the reaction happens best at 2.5-3.0 pH at 100C and completes after 3 hours) [4]. Fresh mushrooms are preferred for this method because they contain the most IBO possible and will therefore yield the most MUS, but dried mushrooms can be used as well. Please note that although this method will induce rapid decarboxylation which completes within 3 hours, you may hold the reaction for any fraction of that time to reach your desired conversion percentage (i.e. ~1.5 hours for 50% conversion).

Materials needed:

-water

-stainless steel pot with lid

-stove/burner

-lemon juice or citric acid powder

-pH meter

-distilled water for cleaning the meter

-something to strain the mushroom material at the end such as cheesecloth, coffee filters, etc.

1. If using fresh mushrooms, remove all dirt and worms to the best of your ability. You can use a non-serrated knife and toothbrush for cleaning. Dice mushrooms into small cubes, or cut into thin slices.

2. If using dried mushrooms, cut into small pieces with scissors or rip apart with your fingers. Do not grind into powder or else it will be difficult to strain out at the end.

3. Optional — weigh cap and stipe mushroom material separately and make note of it for your own records.

4. Fill stainless steel pot on stove with tap or spring water. You can use distilled water, but you will need to swirl it around and wait for pH to adjust as it absorbs CO2 from the air. Add enough water to last the duration of the simmer. Some water will evaporate from the sides of the pot but not an excessive amount.

5. Add mushrooms to pot, stir around, and wait about ten minutes for the pH of the water to adjust.

6. Add a *very* tiny amount of lemon juice or citric acid powder, stir, and then measure the pH of the water. Keep adding a tiny bit more until the pH value is between 2.5 and 3.0.

7. Put the pot lid on, bring to a boil, then lower heat and maintain simmer with the pot lid on, only removing lid to check on it. Check the pH of the water every half hour to make sure it’s in the correct range. Many pH meters cannot give reliable readings at temperatures higher than 50C/122F, so you may need to transfer some of the liquid to a small bowl to let cool to check pH. After 20-30 minutes of simmering you may remove the mushrooms, squeezing excess liquid into the pot, and either discard them or save for culinary use. At this point the alkaloids will have moved into the liquid so there is not much point keeping the mushrooms in the pot. You may leave them in for the duration but as the water level drops it may be easier if they are removed.

8. Allow to cool to room temperature.

9. Strain out mushroom matter, squeeze remaining liquid from mushrooms, and discard mushroom matter.

10. Optional — make note of the volume of liquid you end up with for your own records.

11. Add the liquid you will use within a week into a container for the refrigerator. Add the remaining liquid into a plastic freezer container and/or ice cube trays. When you need more liquid, let it thaw for a half hour and break off a new piece for the fridge (with the ice cubes you can use them as-is of course). Alternatively you can add amounts for separate weeks into separate freezer containers and just put them into the fridge as needed.

12. For dosing, start with a small amount such as 1/4 or 1 teaspoon while you are awake, and see how it affects you. Each new separate day while you are awake, increase the amount by a little until you then have the dose or dose range you want to experiment with. If your liquid is extra potent you can experiment with this same liquid at expected dosing for several weeks (or all year if used infrequently).

SUMMARY: cut mushrooms into small pieces, get water to 2.5-3.0 pH, bring to boil with lid on, lower heat and simmer for desired duration with lid on, strain and discard mushrooms, freeze for later

References:

Please note that there is no at-home method that will *truly* decarboxylate *100%* of the ibotenic acid, but in any pragmatic sense this method should be considered a “full” conversion (if simmering for the full 3 hours). For example in reference #3 you can see that a 53.89:1 MUS:IBO ratio was achieved compared to a 0.29:1 ratio of the control sample which is extremely significant. This is a combination of being both the most accessible and fastest decarboxylation method available for people with basic kitchen tools.

For this particular potion I used eight fresh mushrooms of an unidentified species within subsection Pantherinae of section Amanita of the Amanita genus, but of course you may use whatever psychoactive species within section Amanita you would like. I used 2 liters of Crystal Geyser spring water, 1/4 teaspoon of Now Foods citric acid powder, and Apera Instruments model PH20 meter (but there are much cheaper meters available for $10 that will work just fine). My cap material weight was 78.8 grams and stipe material was 124.1 grams. I achieved a pH of 2.9 and simmered for 3 hours. When finished I ended up with 0.875 liters of liquid. The measurements of the water and mushrooms do not matter, as long as the correct pH range and temperature are achieved — the amount of citric acid or lemon juice you use will depend entirely on the specific water you are using and other factors 

If you found this helpful, it is part of a larger guide which is being hosted at http://amanitaguide.com and at Amanita Muscaria Science and Magic!