To date, there is currently limited-to-no available evidence-based knowledge on dosage method comparisons for microdosing. Dosage method is often chosen through personal preference, however, there are some notable differences between tinctures and capsules.
Tinctures are concentrated liquid extracts created by soaking a substance (e.g., psilocybin) in water or alcohol. Usually, tinctures are prepared for longer term storage, as properly prepared tinctures can last several years without losing potency, which means that they are shelf stable (Ampofo et al., 2012). Tinctures are usually fast-acting, and because tinctures are concentrated extracts and can have high potency, dosages needed for tinctures are usually much lower than other infusions. However, because alcohol alone will not break down the chitin cell walls (a fibrous substance forming the cell walls of fungi) in mushrooms effectively, hot water extraction is usually performed on fungi, which can break down chitin cell walls and draw out water-soluble compounds (Deguchi et al., 2015). Commercially-available tinctures often contain a mix of other substances. Importantly, it’s often not possible to know the exact concentration of psilocybin in a tincture without lab testing. Without adequate testing, tincture ingestion is not recommended and dosing should be be approached with extreme caution.
Capsules, on the other hand, contain a dried, powdered substance usually encased in a gelatin-based capsule for oral ingestion. Psilocybin capsules are commonly used to administer psilocybin in clinical research (e.g., Holze et al., 2022), as they can be accurately measured and dosed. In a recent study on microdosing, for example, dried Psilocybin Cubensis was ground and placed in gel capsules to administer to participants (Cavanna et al., 2022). Samples were dried at ≈28° and ground into a fine powder, with different parts of the mushrooms homogeneously distributed. As with tinctures, commercially-available powder-based capsules often contain a mix of different substances designed to hold the active ingredient stable. Compared with tinctures, capsules often allow for greater control and accuracy when dosing.
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