Comparison of Estero (Pan cyan) and Albino Penis Envy (Cubensis) mushrooms via Thin Layer Chromatography

I will create a video explaining how to do this type of analysis, but for now I just wanted to show everyone a comparison between these species.  Albino Penis Envy (APE) is widely considered to be one of the most potent cubensis cultivars, it was heavily represented in the latest psilocybin cup (if you want to see my comments/critique of the cup, click the link and scroll down to the bottom where comments are shown, to see comments on a phone you may have to tap settings (in chrome for example)->desktop view).  

So how does APE stack up against Estero (pan cyan)?

Each dot in the picture above represents a chemical compound (these are labeled on the left). They are in two vertical columns, so the left side from top to bottom is all Estero, right side is APE.  Starting with the two most important, look at the psilocybin and psilocin content - quantification is not precise, but you can estimate based on spot size and darkness, the Estero cultivar is approximately three times as potent as APE (and it would have easily blown all other entries out of the water had it been submitted to the psilocybin cup).  This should be a reminder to all to dose appropriately (pan cyan holds the record for most potent mushroom species in the world as per published research).  If you normally take 3 grams of cubensis, try 1g of Estero.  It is always better to start with a lower dose and see how you respond before trying anything higher (you may want to start with just 0.5g).  There is NO PRIZE for taking the highest dose, in fact there is no documented benefit of any dose beyond about 35mg psilocybin equivalent, just more fear & anxiety for most people.

But there's more to it than just triple the psilocybin and psilocin, Estero also contains baeocystin (hard to see, but its there), urea (quite a bit), and serotonin.  None of these compounds can be seen at all in APE.  Could these be partly responsible for the difference in anecdotes from user experiences on Estero?

Here are some comments people have sent on this subject:

• "I strongly agree with starting with one-half gram dry.  It was a much better experience than any cubes I've tried even at higher doses."

• "Cubes gave me mild nausea and made me feel 'shakey'.  Not at all so with Pan cyans"
  
  
• "Penis Envy is and has been overrated. I think any other well sourced Cube is just the same. It’s that cultural conditioning at play."
  
• "lol who needs cubes when you can have Cyanescens!  I’ve blessed a few people with them and they are now believers lol."
  
• "When Estero kicked in, I wasn’t disappointed.  At one point I forgot I ate Cyanescens and thought I was on a DMT ride!  As often happens to me on DMT I was 'connected' to some kind of power cord or machine umbilical that was coming from my wall straight towards me and plugged into my third eye!  And I felt the presence of a cosmic nurse at my side. Like she had her hand in my shoulder reassuring me all was ok!  Then I was like “f*** I ate mushrooms this ain’t a DMT trip” ;)

• "I've taken enough cubes to know Estero is different... 2 grams. Most amazing experience of my life. 10 hours. And another two hours of happiness watching TV and talking about my experience with my wife. In the end I just want to thank you. No comparison."

• "OMG, OMG, O. M. G. Had my first deeply religious experience on 2g [estero] yesterday. I have never felt anything like it in my life. It was truly incredible."

• "I ended up taking a 1 gram of Estero since I’m used to taking 3-4 grams of cubensis. Man…you were not kidding about the potency of these. 1 gram easily felt like 4-4.5 grams of cubensis to me.  These were by far the best visuals on mushrooms I’ve ever had.  Also, the euphoria was quite intense, and giggle sessions were uncontrollable.  All in all, I love pan cyans and they’ll likely be my go to. I’ll likely still grow cubensis for microdosing as well as less potency for sharing with others."
  
• "Experienced people do sometimes doubt ones sanity trying to explain just how deep Estero gets on what some call a "micro dose" the pan experience for me is the most rewarding substance I've ever ingested and half reduced my dose and frequency of use to fine tune the benefits, plus stopped using synthetic drugs completely and have been experiencing recovery i didn't really know I need but pretty sure i do."

• "I didn't really expect how good the differences were from Cube to estero. The visuals weren't comparable at all and the euphoria was so wonderful. My 2g trip was literally the best substance experience of my life next to marriage and kids. 10 hours of pure bliss." [Gordo note: 2g is too much for most people, be cautious]

• "Funny because I went to an Ayahuasca ceremony in May and the Shaman told me to start growing pans... he said, “Cubes are for the people. Pans are for the elevated.”
  
• "First experience last night with Estero pan cyan. Truly mystical, amazing, and the most beautiful and gentle psychedelic experience to date. Truly a gift."

• "There's something about Pan Cyan that induces something special that no cube could ever bring, it isn't that it's a clean feeling either - it's something that must deal with happiness in general - so whether it stimulates serotonin production or a mixture of neurochemicals for the best experience, I have had consistently positive experiences with each trip both physiologically and psychologically. I wonder if it has to do with other alkaloids or absence of alkaloids vs cubensis"
  
  

One of this years funniest/best psychedelic reveals was the guy who actually came up with Penis Envy (the best selling cubensis cultivar of all time), when interviewed by Hamilton Morris essentially said (my paraphrase) 'Eh, it's still just a cube, and cubes don't do it for me. I find the Cyanescens far superior (they have entities)!' Haha. So the guy who created the most popular cubensis cultivar in the world doesn't even like cubensis.  Eventually I think most in the grower community will come to prefer other species.  I would still like to see some reputable published research comparing user experience by species (this is challenging to do but worth a try).  As an aside, if you listen to that Hamilton interview, the PE guy says a lot of "out there" things that deserve to be challenged, every so called claim of "supernatural powers" has always failed rigorous testing and he is no exception.   The psychedelic community has a long history of nonsense associated with it, and as far as I'm concerned, its time to do things differently, and I will always call out the nonsense.  I have plenty more to say about Casteneda, astral projection, and more, but don't want to get side tracked.

Love life, stay strong, and be well.


[Notes on sample preparation and procedure for the above shown TLC]

100mg of carefully weighed, blended/homogenized mushroom powder from each sample was added to a small beaker, 5ml of methanol was added over top while also washing down the sides of the beaker.  The beakers were covered then transferred to an ultrasonic bath in hot tap water (120F), sonicated for 8 minutes, 5 minute rest, followed by another 8 minute sonication.  Samples were allowed to settle for 10 minutes but no filtration, decanting, or centrifuging was done.  A calibrated micro pipettor (5µl) was used to transfer 10µl of each sample to the chromatography sheet.  Sheet was developed in a sealed glass chamber saturated with eluent consisting of methanol and ammonia (100:1.5 mixing ratio).  After development the sheet was allowed to dry while undergoing ultraviolet examination, then freshly mixed Ehrlich's reagent was applied by spray bottle until the sheet was saturated, followed by drying with a heat gun.  Sheet was periodically photographed every 5 minutes until colors reached full development (maximum brightness).

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