(NewsNation) — Psilocybin, a chemical in hallucinogenic mushrooms, may help delay skin and lung cell aging by more than 50%, a new study suggests.
Researchers used a cellular aging model of human lung cells to see how the chemical would impact them. In a later model, the team discovered that mice at the equivalent of 60-65 human years who were given psilocybin lived longer than the ones that did not.
While more testing is needed to determine just how that would translate to humans, it’s another potential scientific benefit of psilocybin.
The findings were published July in the journal npj Aging.
This year, Colorado became the second state to legalize psychedelic therapy.
While research has shown promise for psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA, also known as molly, in helping people with conditions such as alcoholism, depression and PTSD, the scientific field remains in its relatively early stages.
In 2023, the use of hallucinogens including LSD, mescaline, peyote, shrooms or psilocybin, continued a five-year trend of increasing, with 9% of respondents 19-30 saying they used hallucinogens, compared to 4% of respondents 35-50, according to a 2024 survey.