Effect of oral tryptamines on the gut microbiome of rats—a preliminary study

Background Psilocybin and related tryptamines have come into the spotlight in recent years as potential therapeutics for depression. Research on the mechanisms of these effects has historically focused on the direct effects of these drugs on neural processes. However, in addition to such neural effects, alterations in peripheral physiology may also contribute to their therapeutic effects. In particular, substantial support exists for a gut microbiome-mediated pathway for the antidepressant efficacy of other drug classes, but no prior studies have determined the effects of tryptamines on microbiota. Methods To address this gap, in this preliminary study, male Long Evans rats were treated with varying dosages of oral psilocybin (0.2 or 2 mg/kg), norbaeocystin (0.25 or 2.52 mg/kg), or vehicle and their fecal samples were collected 1 week and 3 weeks after exposure for microbiome analysis using integrated 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing to determine gut microbiome composition. Results We found that although treatment with neither psilocybin nor norbaeocystin significantly affected overall microbiome diversity, it did cause significant dose- and time-dependent changes in bacterial abundance at the phylum level, including increases in Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria, and decreases in Proteobacteria. Conclusion and Implications These preliminary findings support the idea that psilocybin and other tryptamines may act on the gut microbiome in a dose- and time-dependent manner, potentially identifying a novel peripheral mechanism for their antidepressant activity. The results from this preliminary study also suggest that norbaeocystin may warrant further investigation as a potential antidepressant, given the similarity of its effects to psilocybin.