The masterpiece we have all been waiting for in this classic text from the 60s, Ergot Alkaloids comes to life in the English translation of Albert Hofmann’s historic encyclopedia of Ergot Alkaloids and their derivatives.
This title is a detailed account of chemical compounds and pharmacological investigation into the potential of magical plants. Starting with the botany and cultivation of the ergot mushroom, Hofmann takes us through the historical elaboration of the fungus including the poisoning epidemic of ergot and its early medical uses all the way to the use of psilocybin as a “magical drug”. With a detailed timeline, we explore the growth of the pharmaceutical-chemical investigation from 1816 to 1961 with a total synthesis of ergotamine including tables of chemical structures and the role of lysergic acid, d-lysergic acid and diethylamide in experimental psychiatry gaining increasing importance in psychotherapy as a medical aid. Hofmann brings an observational account of these plants and their ceremonial and healing purposes still used by indigenous peoples such as the “Peyotl” cactus, “Teonanactl” the sacred mushroom of the Aztecs and “Ololiuqui” the seeds of bindweed plants.
With representations of over 30 chemical structures and pharmaceutical analysis, Hofmann introduces the next generation of scientific knowledge into the world of hallucinogenic plants and special subgroups of psychotropic drugs which he calls phantastica, hallucinogens, psychotomimetic, psychedelica, psychodysleptics and more.
Circa l’autore
Albert Hofmann was a Swiss chemist best known for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He attended the University of Zurich graduating in 1929 and later went on to work for Sandoz Laboratories in Basel where he was assigned to develop the methods for synthesizing compounds found in medicinal plants. Once finding the visionary properties of LSD he became an advocate for its use in therapeutic treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric patients. He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including LSD: My Problem Child: Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science. In 2007, Hofmann was named #1 out of 100 in Telegraph magazine’s ‘Top 100 Living Geniuses’, and in 2022, his pioneering work with LSD was featured in the Netflix documentary series “How to Change Your Mind.”
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