Translated from our German original by AI. The German text was researched, written, and edited by the Psychedelia Foundation team and remains the authoritative version.
A new scientific review has for the first time systematically compiled all known academic and patented synthesis routes for bufotenine and its related derivative 5-MeO-DMT. The analysis covers the state of research up to autumn 2024 and is intended to help scientists select suitable production methods for further research on psychedelic compounds.
Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-DMT) is a naturally occurring tryptamine derivative with comparatively weak psychoactive effects. Its relative 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), by contrast, is considered one of the most potent psychedelics known. Both substances occur in various plants and in the secretions of certain toad species, and both have historically been used in traditional contexts.
The authors of the review point out that research on psychedelics in the 20th century was severely limited by legal restrictions and international drug prohibition. In recent years, however, scientific interest has risen markedly, particularly with regard to possible applications in mental illness and in inflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions.
As the number of clinical and preclinical studies grows, so does the need for larger quantities of these substances. Since neither bufotenine nor 5-MeO-DMT is currently available on a larger industrial scale, research institutions often have to develop their own synthesis routes or commission external specialist laboratories.
The first chemical synthesis of bufotenine was published as early as 1935 by Hoshino and colleagues. Even so, new methods are still being developed and patented today. The present review compares the various production routes in terms of efficiency and practicability, and it names the open challenges for possible future production at commercial scale.
Homon, A., Laramie, J., Hayward, J.J., Trant, J.F. (2026), We Licked the Toads so You Don’t Have to: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Chemical Syntheses of the Classical Psychedelics Bufotenin (e) and 5‐Methoxy‐N, N‐Dimethyltryptamine, ChemMedChem 21(4): e202500525.
