Lanmaoa asiatica (兰茂牛肝菌), a commonly consumed bolete mushroom in southwestern China, is widely appreciated for its culinary value but is also associated with reports of hallucination-like symptoms when improperly cooked. Despite these observations, no known psychoactive compounds have been identified in this species, and genomic analyses have shown no clear correspondence with established psilocybin or muscimol biosynthetic pathways. These findings suggest that Lanmaoa asiatica may contain previously uncharacterized neuroactive substances. At the same time, emerging research highlights the importance of biological sex in mood disorders and in responses to psychoactive compounds, yet sex differences remain underexplored in many preclinical studies.
Building on a previous IE162 project, this study aims to investigate the neurobehavioral effects of Lanmaoa asiatica using a mouse model, with particular emphasis on sex-dependent responses and the influence of preparation methods. We seeks to generate foundational behavioral and biochemical data to clarify how biological sex and preparation methods modulate the neuroactive potential of Lanmaoa asiatica. The findings may contribute to understanding sex-specific responses to psychoactive natural products and provide initial insights for future mechanistic studies and the exploration of fungus-derived compounds as potential therapeutic leads for mood disorders.
