Skip to content

Lysergamide

  • Plant preparation
  • Varies by country
  • Identity checked
  • Sources last checked 2026-09-04

This page shows what was measured, who it was measured in, and what that does not settle.

What Lysergamide does in the body

Nothing. These are garden seeds containing an ergot alkaloid, sold in every seed rack, and the compound in them is not federally controlled

Ergine is lysergic acid amide, structurally the parent of LSD with a plain amide where LSD has two ethyl groups. It activates the same 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, far more weakly, and it is markedly more sedating. Like every ergot alkaloid it also constricts blood vessels, which is where the nausea, the cold extremities and the cardiovascular effects come from. The seeds do not make it: a fungus that lives on the plant does, and how much any given seed contains depends on that fungal association rather than on the cultivar name printed on the packet.

What happened in people

Termination of a controlled four-person study after severe adverse effects in three subjects, with complete recovery within nine hours

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The recorded finding that sits closest to something a person would notice. Written into the record, not signed off, and it carries no population or interval.

The limit that matters most

That structural parenthood to LSD makes ergine a natural equivalent with a comparable effect profile

Where it acts
Cortical 5-HT2A receptors for the psychoactive effect, and vascular smooth muscle for the vasoconstriction that ergot alkaloids share
Kind of result
The kind of result is not recorded
Supervision
Not usually supervised: sold as a supplement or food ingredient where recorded. That is a legal category, not a safety judgement.

What the registries record it as

  • The substance registry classes this as chemical.

    FDA substance registry · 073830XH10 · read 2026-08-29

Where each sentence above came from

The recorded explanation is written in label language rather than for a beginner. The page opens with what it is taken for instead, and the recorded explanation follows below.

Shown as the opening line on this page.

A limit recorded against this substance. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

The four opening statements run to 139 words.

Words this page uses

Four words worth knowing first

Chosen from what this page shows, with each one explained before the word it depends on.

Biomarker

A biomarker is a number from a test that stands in for something about health.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A biomarker is like a fuel gauge.

Where that stops being true. A gauge is wired to the tank. Many biomarkers are only loosely tied to health.

What people get wrong. A better number is read as a better life. Several medicines improved a number and helped nobody.

A measurable indicator used as a substitute for a clinical outcome of interest.

Placebo

A placebo is a dummy treatment given so the real one can be compared with it.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A placebo is like a blank control in an experiment.

Where that stops being true. A blank does nothing. People given a placebo often do get better.

What people get wrong. A placebo effect is read as imaginary. The improvement is measured and real.

An inactive intervention matched in appearance to the test intervention, used to control for non-specific effects.

Comparator

A comparator is whatever the treatment was measured against.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

It is like the other runner in a race.

Where that stops being true. A race has one winner. A study can show both arms improved.

What people get wrong. Results are read without asking what the other group got. Beating nothing is not beating a treatment.

The control condition against which the experimental intervention is assessed.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What happened in people

Each card is one study: the exact question it asked, who was in it, and whether it showed what it set out to show.

Effect of Argyreia nervosa seed ingestion on driving ability

The study did not show it

Who was studied
Kremer et al. 2012 Argyreia nervosa driving-ability study (Frankfurt)
How many people
4
Study design
Controlled human study, terminated
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Not reached — the protocol was terminated after severe adverse effects in 3 of 4 subjects: cardiovascular dysregulation in 2 and a psychosis-like state in 1
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. All subjects recovered completely within 9 hours. Body-normalised doses produced markedly different reactions in type and intensity, which the authors attribute partly to fluctuating seed alkaloid content.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Whole or ground seed, eaten

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

Isolation, description and tissue localisation of the alkaloid-producing symbiont of Ipomoea tricolor

The study showed what it set out to show

Who was studied
Hazel & Panaccione 2025 isolation of Periglandula clandestina
How many people
0
Study design
Mycological isolation, genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Multi-gene phylogenetics placed the symbiont as distinct from both described Periglandula species; qPCR localised it to hypocotyls, stems, cotyledons and leaves but not roots
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. Meeting one endpoint in one population does not carry to other goals or other people.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. Alkaloids were abundant in root tissue where the fungus was undetectable, so alkaloid distribution reflects transport as well as colonisation and cannot be read directly as fungal presence.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Whole or ground seed, eaten

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

What we know
RNAWiki holds 2 written-up human studies for this substance, each with the question it asked.
How we know it
Each card names the study, the number of people and what the study set out to measure.
What this does not prove
These summaries were written by a person and have not been signed off as reviewed claims.
Why it matters
A study that failed is as informative as one that worked, and both are here.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim exists, so no exact population, effect size or interval is published yet.

What it changes in the bodyRead from sources, not yet reviewed

The path through the body

From what a person takes to what changes. A solid line is a step measured in people. A dashed line is a step nobody has measured that way.

  1. Start

    Lysergamide

    What a person takes: Whole or ground seed, eaten.

    The measurement behind this step

    The delivery system is an agricultural seed sold for ornamental planting, containing an alkaloid load set by a fungal symbiosis and declared nowhere. Some commercial seed carries treatments applied to deter ingestion, which adds a second undeclared exposure. There is no preparation, formulation or standard of any kind between the packet and the person.

  2. Getting in

    Eaten as seeds, whole or ground

    Garden seed from a packet. How much active compound is in any given handful is not knowable from the packet.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    Oral ingestion of Ipomoea tricolor or Argyreia nervosa seed, delivering ergine with isoergine, ergometrine and clavine alkaloids in variable proportions. Body-weight-normalised dosing in the one controlled study still produced markedly different responses.

  3. Reaching the cell

    Absorbed, with nausea arriving first

    Gastrointestinal upset is the earliest and most reliable effect, and it comes from the ergot chemistry rather than from anything psychedelic.

    Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

    The measurement behind this step

    Ergoline alkaloids act at gastrointestinal and vascular serotonin and adrenergic receptors, producing nausea and vomiting that typically precede central effects. Onset over about an hour, with recovery within nine hours in all four subjects of the controlled series.

  4. What it acts on

    Weakly activates the 5-HT2A receptor

    The same receptor LSD uses, engaged far less potently, and with more sedation than perceptual change.

    Described, with no measurement named. No measurement is named for this step, so it is drawn as an unconfirmed link.

    The measurement behind this step

    Ergoline agonism at 5-HT2A with potency far below lysergic acid diethylamide — the structural difference is two ethyl groups on the amide nitrogen, and the difference in active dose is roughly three orders of magnitude.

  5. The change it makes

    And constricts blood vessels

    Every ergot alkaloid narrows blood vessels. That is where the cold hands, the raised blood pressure and the cardiovascular problems come from.

    Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

    The measurement behind this step

    Alpha-adrenergic and 5-HT2A-mediated vascular smooth-muscle constriction, the class effect shared with ergotamine and ergometrine. Two of four subjects in the controlled series developed cardiovascular dysregulation.

  6. What that does for a person

    With responses that differ unpredictably between people

    Given the same dose, one person may be sedated and another may develop a psychosis-like state. Both happened in a four-person study.

    Measured in people. Written by a person from the study named beside the step. Not signed off as a reviewed claim.

    The measurement behind this step

    Severe adverse effects in three of four subjects at equal body-weight-normalised doses: cardiovascular dysregulation in two and a psychosis-like state in one, with complete recovery within nine hours. Fluctuating seed alkaloid content is one identified contributor and cannot be separated from individual pharmacodynamic variation.

No suggested links are held for this record, so nothing is hidden from this path.

What we know
The record describes 5 steps from taking it to an effect in a person.
How we know it
Each step names the study behind it in the technical detail beside it.
What this does not prove
A change inside the body is a reason to look. It is not a result in a person.
Why it matters
A reader can see exactly where the chain stops being measured in people.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim binds any of these steps to a named population.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Were people like you studied?

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it, and where the result stops carrying.

Who was studied

People similar to this profile were included.

  • People who buy garden seed for the purpose. There is no medical population and no clinical programme.

Who is missing from the studies

  • Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

Where the result stopped carrying

  • The Frankfurt driving study could not be completed and produced no data on its intended endpoint
  • The long-standing account that morning glories were the higher-plant exception to fungal-only ergoline production has been withdrawn
  • This is a scope explorer, not a diagnosis engine.
  • It shows who was studied so you can see whether people similar to you were included.

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Why it might seem to do nothing

A real effect and a noticed effect are different things. These are the recorded reasons the two come apart.

It was studied in different people

The people in the studies were not much like the reader.

On this record: Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

The evidence may simply be wrong

Small early studies often do not hold up.

On this record: RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Other reasons RNAWiki checked and found nothing for (11)
It was studied for a different goal
The studies measured something else entirely. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
A different form was studied
The studied form is not the form on the shelf. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
There was nothing to correct
Where a level is already normal, topping it up may change nothing. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else had to happen too
In the studies it was paired with training, a diet or another treatment. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The change is too small to feel
A real change can still sit below what a person notices. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Day-to-day swing hides it
Sleep, food, stress and time of day move most numbers more than this would. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Not enough time yet
The studies ran longer than the person has waited. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
It was not taken as studied
Missed days change the result, and studies count them. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else changed at the same time
Two changes at once cannot be told apart afterwards. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The product may not be what it says
Contents of a sold product are not always what the label states. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
No recorded reason
RNAWiki has nothing stored that would explain it. Nothing in this record points to this reason.

None of these is a reason to take more. Taking more is not a step this page ever suggests.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What taking it involves

The recorded facts about getting hold of it and using it. Nothing here is a suggestion about what you should do.

How it is supplied

Varies by country

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

Read from the recorded approval status.

No source is stored against this line.

Form and route

Whole or ground seed, eaten

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form and route recorded on this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

Who oversees it

Not usually supervised: sold as a supplement or food ingredient where recorded. That is a legal category, not a safety judgement.

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

The identity record classes it as a supplement ingredient; no medicines register records an approval.

No source is stored against this line.

What is in the pack

The delivery system is an agricultural seed sold for ornamental planting, containing an alkaloid load set by a fungal symbiosis and declared nowhere. Some commercial seed carries treatments applied to deter ingestion, which adds a second undeclared exposure. There is no preparation, formulation or standard of any kind between the packet and the person.

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

Recorded notes on how this is sold and what that means for what is in the pack.

No source is stored against this line.

Where it is registered

Not recorded.

Nothing recorded

Where this came from

RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.

No register entry is recorded.

No source is stored against this line.

Why people stop

Not recorded.

Nothing recorded

Where this came from

RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.

No record of why people stopped taking it is stored for this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What can go wrong

Sorted by where each line came from. A regulator's label and a report somebody sent in are not the same kind of fact.

Worth asking a clinician aboutWritten into the record from the studies named on this page

In the only controlled human study, three of four subjects given equal body-weight-normalised doses had severe adverse effects — cardiovascular dysregulation in two and a psychosis-like state in one — and the protocol was terminated; all recovered fully within nine hours. Nausea and vomiting are the most consistent effects and arrive before central ones. Vasoconstriction is a class property of the ergot alkaloids and is the mechanism behind the cardiovascular findings, which places people with vascular disease at particular risk. Seed alkaloid content fluctuates, so an exposure cannot be estimated from seed mass, and the authors of the controlled study concluded that multi-drug intoxications make this legal high far more dangerous than commonly believed.

Nobody counted how many people took this and were fine, so this cannot be turned into a rate.

Where this came from

Over a long time. No completed tested study window is recorded, so long-term effects are not established by the registry record.

Groups the studies covered thinly. Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Does the exact form matter?

Evidence belongs to the exact thing that was tested. A different salt, a different mixture or a different preparation is a different question.

The form that was studied

Whole or ground seed, eaten

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form used in the studies cited on this page.

No source is stored against this line.

What is sold

Some commercial seed carries treatments applied to deter ingestion, which adds a second undeclared exposure. There is no preparation, formulation or standard of any kind between the packet and the person.

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

Recorded notes on which forms are sold and how they compare.

No source is stored against this line.

What is recorded as being sold

  • 107363 marketed supplement labels list this ingredient, classed as botanical, botanical with nutrients and other combinations.

    NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · 214893 · read 2026-08-29

  • Those labels carry all other, nutrient and structure/function claims. A claim of that kind is written by the manufacturer and is not assessed by any regulator, so its presence says nothing about whether it is true.

    NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · 214893 · read 2026-08-29

Evidence carries across two names for one substance. It does not carry across a salt, a mirror form or a mixture.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What you could measure

Watching one thing carefully can tell you whether it moved. It cannot tell you what moved it.

This is sold without a prescription, so a person can sensibly watch one thing and see whether it moves.

  1. Pick one goal. One goal only. Two at once cannot be told apart afterwards.

  2. Pick one thing to watch. No registered study lists a measure RNAWiki could read for this.

  3. Measure before you start. Take the same measurement several times first. One reading is not a starting point.

  4. Know the swing. Write down how much it moves on its own across a normal week.

  5. Change one thing. Change nothing else at the same time, including training and sleep.

  6. Give it the study length. No finished study window is recorded, so no length is suggested here.

  7. Track whether you took it. Missed days are the most common reason a home test shows nothing.

  8. Read the trend. Look at the line across weeks. A single reading tells you almost nothing.

What not to measure

  • Anything that swings more day to day than the change you are looking for.
  • A wearable estimate of sleep stages, which is an estimate and not a measurement.
  • Weight on one morning, which mostly records water.
  • A feeling you did not write down before starting.

When to stop

  • Stop if something new and unpleasant starts, and ask a pharmacist or doctor.
  • Stop if you cannot keep everything else steady, because the result will not mean anything.
  • Stop at the end of the window you set, and read the trend then.

Tracking can show whether something changed for you. It cannot show what caused it.

RNAWiki does not work out an amount for anyone.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Claims that go past the evidence

Things said about this substance that sound reasonable, and the exact step that is missing between the evidence and the claim.

Goes past the evidence

That structural parenthood to LSD makes ergine a natural equivalent with a comparable effect profile

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That a dose established by one person transfers to another, when equal weight-adjusted doses produced qualitatively different outcomes in a supervised study

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That cultivar name predicts alkaloid content, when content depends on a fungal symbiosis rather than on plant genotype

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Goes past the evidence

That legal availability implies a characterised or bounded exposure; the seeds are sold under agricultural rather than pharmaceutical standards

Why it sounds right. It follows from something real on this page: a body step, an animal result or a related finding.

The missing step. Nobody measured this in people for this use, or the study that did measure it did not show it.

What would change this

A study in people, for this exact use, measuring this exact thing, that a reviewer signs off.

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What nobody knows yet

Open questions, each with why it is open and what would close it.

Missing populations

Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing long-term data

No completed tested study window is recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

No reviewed conclusion

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing interaction studies

No interaction was found in the registers checked. Not finding one is not the same as showing there is none.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Formulation uncertainty

Several salts, forms or products of Lysergamide are recorded. Results from one form may not transfer to another.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Mechanism not reviewed

No reviewed mechanism story exists for this substance.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Check any of this yourself

Every line above traced back to the study it came from. This is the technical layer, and the vocabulary changes here.

Every line above can be traced to the study named beside it. Follow the link and read it.

A four-person study stopped when three were severely affected
In plain words
Researchers set out to measure how Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds affect driving. They gave four people equal doses adjusted for body weight, and had to abandon the study: two had cardiovascular problems and one a psychosis-like state.
What was measured
Adverse events after equal body-weight-normalised doses of Argyreia nervosa seeds, n=4, leading to termination of the protocol
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
This entry records a failure.
From the source
Kremer, Paulke, Wunder and Toennes designed a study to assess how driving ability is affected by Argyreia nervosa seeds, which contain lysergic acid amide. The study could not be continued because of severe adverse effects in three of four subjects: cardiovascular dysregulation in two and a psychosis-like state in one. All participants recovered completely within nine hours of ingestion. Despite body-normalised doses, the reactions differed markedly between individuals in both type and intensity. The authors attribute part of that to fluctuating alkaloid content in the seeds and note that multi-drug intoxications make use of this legal high "far more dangerous than commonly believed". A terminated four-person study is not an incidence estimate; what it establishes is that under controlled conditions, with weighed doses and medical supervision, three quarters of a small sample had effects severe enough to stop the protocol.
Source
Kremer C, Paulke A, Wunder C, Toennes SW. Forensic Sci Int 2012;214:e6-e8
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
The plant does not make the drug — a fungus does
In plain words
For decades the ergot alkaloids in morning glory seeds were taken to be plant products, and they were the famous exception to the rule that ergolines come from fungi. They are not an exception. A symbiotic fungus makes them, and the one living on the common ornamental morning glory was only isolated and named in 2025.
What was measured
Isolation, genome sequencing, phylogenetic placement and tissue-level quantification of the alkaloid-producing symbiont of Ipomoea tricolor
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Ergot alkaloids are produced exclusively by fungi, and their presence in morning glories (Convolvulaceae) is associated with a symbiotic clavicipitaceous fungus. The genus Periglandula was erected for two epibiotic morning-glory symbiont species; biochemical and limited sequence data indicated that Ipomoea tricolor — the commonly cultivated Mexican morning glory of Heavenly Blue and Pearly Gates seed packets — contained a Periglandula species, but no sign of the fungus had ever been detected. Hazel and Panaccione observed fungal hyphae in evacuated seed coats of I. tricolor, transferred them onto malt extract agar to obtain cultures, sequenced the genome with Illumina technology, and showed by multi-gene phylogenetics that the symbiont was distinct from both described Periglandula species. Quantitative PCR localised the fungus most abundantly in hypocotyls, with lesser amounts in stems, cotyledons and leaves, and none detectable in roots — although ergot alkaloids were abundant in all tissues including roots. They named it Periglandula clandestina. The historical claim that ololiuqui proved higher plants could make ergolines is therefore withdrawn: the fungus was simply not visible.
Source
Hazel CM, Panaccione DG. Mycologia 2025;117:602-614
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Not scheduled, and not a List I chemical either
In plain words
Lysergic acid amide appears in no US drug schedule. It is also absent from the list of controlled chemicals that includes the two ergot compounds used to make LSD.
What was measured
Absence of lysergic acid amide from the federal drug schedules and from the List I chemical registry
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Lysergic acid amide does not appear in any schedule of 21 CFR part 1308. It also does not appear in the List I chemicals at 21 CFR 1310.02, which does name "Ergonovine and its salts" (DEA code 8675, threshold 10 grams) and "Ergotamine and its salts" (8676, threshold 20 grams) — the two ergot alkaloids controlled as LSD precursors. The distinction is worth stating precisely: the compounds regulated as chemicals are those useful for synthesising LSD, and ergine is not among them, so a psychoactive ergoline sits outside both regimes. The seeds themselves are ordinary agricultural commodities. As with salvinorin A, several US states control the seeds or the compound independently, which produces the same state-line patchwork.
Source
21 CFR part 1308, current eCFR text; 21 CFR 1310.02, List I chemicals, entries (5) and (6)
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
Equal doses, unequal responses
In plain words
Every participant in the Frankfurt study got the same dose adjusted for their body weight, and their reactions differed enormously in both kind and severity.
What was measured
Between-subject variation in adverse-effect type and intensity at equal body-weight-normalised seed doses
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
The Kremer study is titled for its central observation: "Variable adverse effects in subjects after ingestion of equal doses of Argyreia nervosa seeds". Despite body-normalised dosing, the reactions differed markedly between individuals in type as well as intensity — one subject developed a psychosis-like state while two developed cardiovascular dysregulation. Two explanations are available and the study cannot separate them. Fluctuating alkaloid content between seeds means "equal doses" by seed mass are not equal doses by alkaloid, which the authors identify. Alternatively or additionally, individual pharmacodynamic differences may be large for this class. The practical consequence is the same either way: a dose established in one person does not transfer, and there is no route by which a user could establish one.
Source
Kremer C et al. Forensic Sci Int 2012;214:e6-e8, title finding and discussion
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
The fungus is in the shoot, but the alkaloid is everywhere
In plain words
Quantitative testing found the symbiotic fungus concentrated in the seedling stem and absent from the roots — yet the roots were full of ergot alkaloids.
What was measured
Fungal abundance by qPCR against ergot alkaloid content across hypocotyl, stem, cotyledon, leaf and root tissue
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Quantitative PCR in the 2025 study found Periglandula clandestina most abundant in hypocotyls of Ipomoea tricolor, with lesser quantities in stems, cotyledons and leaves, and no detection in roots — while ergot alkaloids were abundant in all tissues including roots. That mismatch is informative rather than contradictory: it implies the alkaloids are transported through the plant from where the fungus sits, so alkaloid content in any given tissue reflects both fungal colonisation and plant transport. For the practical question of what is in a seed, it means the alkaloid load is set by a two-organism system, which is why content varies between lots of the same cultivar in a way that a plant-genetics explanation cannot account for.
Source
Hazel CM, Panaccione DG. Mycologia 2025;117:602-614, qPCR tissue analysis
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
"LSD's natural precursor" is a chemical statement, not a pharmacological one
In plain words
Ergine is the parent structure of LSD, which makes it sound like a natural version of the same drug. Its potency is orders of magnitude lower and its effect profile is dominated by sedation and vasoconstriction.
What was measured
That structural parenthood to LSD makes ergine a natural equivalent with a comparable effect profile
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Ergine is lysergic acid amide and LSD is lysergic acid diethylamide: the two ethyl substituents are the entire structural difference, and they account for a difference in active dose of roughly three orders of magnitude. Ergine's reported effect profile is dominated by sedation, nausea and vasoconstriction rather than by the perceptual changes characteristic of LSD, and the seeds deliver isoergine and other ergolines alongside it. The inference that it is therefore a milder or natural equivalent does not follow: the clinical series records cardiovascular dysregulation and a psychosis-like state at doses obtainable from a seed packet, and the vascular effects belong to the ergot alkaloid class rather than to the psychedelic one. This record files the equivalence claim as inferred because the structural relationship is real and the pharmacological transfer is not.
Source
Kremer C et al. Forensic Sci Int 2012;214:e6-e8; PubChem CID 442072 and CID 5761 structural comparison
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
caution
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim
The seeds are an agricultural commodity, sold without any content standard
In plain words
Morning glory and Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds are sold as garden seed. Nothing in that market measures or declares alkaloid content, because nothing requires it to.
What was measured
Absence of any alkaloid content standard in the market through which the seeds are sold
Effect estimate
No reviewed effect estimate exists for this record.
Limits
See the technical detail.
From the source
Ipomoea tricolor and Argyreia nervosa seeds are sold as ornamental garden seed under cultivar names, subject to agricultural seed regulation covering germination and purity rather than to any pharmaceutical or food standard. No alkaloid content is declared, measured or bounded, and the content depends on a fungal symbiosis that varies between growing conditions and lots. Some suppliers apply seed treatments intended to deter ingestion, which introduces a further undeclared exposure. This is filed as measured because it is a checkable property of the regulatory framework, and because it is the structural reason the Kremer study could not deliver equal doses even when it tried to.
Source
Kremer C et al. Forensic Sci Int 2012;214:e6-e8, on fluctuating seed alkaloid content; Hazel CM, Panaccione DG. Mycologia 2025;117:602-614, on the symbiont-dependent origin of that content
Role in the trial
Not matched to a registered study
Identity check
no open identity hold
Audit mark
verified
Review state
Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim

Where else this substance is registered

FDA substance identifier (UNII)
073830XH10
CAS registry number
478-94-4
PubChem compound
442072
ChEBI
4819
EMA substance identifier
300000040353
European Chemicals Agency number
207-524-0

Checks this page had to pass

  • Passed

    Identity resolved

    no open identity hold

  • Passed

    No unresolved merge across substance families

    no quarantine open

  • Passed

    Every public sentence names a source

    The opening statement carries the origin: Written into the record, not signed off.

  • Not passed

    Trial roles classified for highlighted evidence

    No registered study is classified as testing this substance.

  • Passed

    No internal keys in reader text

    enforced by the copy-contract test over the rendered page

  • Passed

    Safety mode resolved

    The identity record classes it as a supplement ingredient; no medicines register records an approval.

  • Passed

    Canonical metadata present

    slug and display name present

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What to learn next

Ordered by what would most change how you read this page, starting with what is easiest to misunderstand.

This order is fixed in code and does not count clicks or time on the page.

What is not here

8 questions this page could not answer

These sections were prepared and left out because there was nothing to put in them. They are listed rather than hidden, so the gaps in this record are visible.

  • What was measured, goal by goal — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • How close this is to real life — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • Felt, measured, or meaningful — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • How long anything takes — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • What it may clash with — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • Other ways to the same goal — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • How this medicine reached us — found nothing in the sources checked.
  • What changed on this page — found nothing in the sources checked.

The record as stored

The full record, for auditing

Everything above is built from what is below. This layer keeps the technical vocabulary, record identifiers and every stored row, so a reader who wants to check the page can.

The older medicine-wide conclusion held in this record

Written for a clinical reader, and about the medicine as a whole rather than about one indication, population and set of trials. RNAWiki does not treat it as a programme conclusion and no reviewer has signed it off in that form. It is here word for word because it is what the record holds.

A federally uncontrolled ergoline sold in garden centres, whose alkaloids are made not by the plant but by a symbiotic fungus first named in 2025 — and a controlled study of four people given equal weight-adjusted seed doses was terminated when three developed cardiovascular dysregulation or a psychosis-like state.

Recorded evidence blocks (0)
Where it is registered
Identifiers, relations and other names

The exact record

PubChem CID
442072
CAS number
478-94-4
InChIKey
GENAHGKEFJLNJB-QMTHXVAHSA-N
Also called
LSA (Ergine) — Morning Glory and Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds
Trade name
No product. The seeds are sold as garden seed under cultivar names such as Heavenly Blue and Pearly Gates, and as Argyreia nervosa seed
Also called
ERGINE, ERGOMETRINE MALEATE IMPURITY C [EP IMPURITY], LYSERGAMIDE [MI], LYSERGIC ACID AMIDE
Component
LSA (Ergine) — Morning Glory and Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds
Sources (1)

Sources

ChEMBL 37 — CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported · ClinicalTrials.gov — US Government work

How these records are assembled · Which registers were checked

Index-quality checks
  • identity passed: no open identity hold
  • required summary fields resolved: 4 required field(s) not terminal: Why people use it, Best-supported result, Biggest unanswered question, Human evidence
  • public claims reviewed: 0 reviewed claim(s); drafts are never rendered
  • source coverage passed: 1 source rows
  • no critical contamination: no quarantine open
  • canonical metadata passed: slug and display name present
  • no raw internal fields: enforced by the copy-contract test over the rendered page

This is a record of evidence. It is not medical advice, and it does not say this substance suits you. Nothing here says any substance on RNAWiki is appropriate for a child.