Psyence Group (PSYG.C) gets their Goodmind adaptogens functional mushrooms on shelves, but do they really work?

Psyence Group (PSYG.C) started online sales and distribution for their Goodmind line of functional mushroom products today, according to a press release. These mushrooms make broad use of adaptogens, which are non-toxic, non-psychoactive fungi that have been used for hundreds of years in traditional medicine for reducing stress, and plenty of other health related issues.

“We are delighted that our first nutraceutical product, Goodmind, is now available for sale online in South Africa. This is an important milestone for Psyence as we look to grow our over-the-counter nutraceutical wellness collection. Goodleaf has a proven track record of successfully launching and distributing high-quality products and we believe they are an excellent partner to successfully launch GOODMIND in this growing market,” said Neil Maresky, CEO of Psyence Group.

Psyence is a life science biotech company in the psychedelics space, working with natural psilocybin and other psychedelics for evidence-based approaches to healing trauma. They have a federally licensed commercial psilocybin mushroom cultivation and production facility, and bring together international experience in both business and science, including mycologists and neurologists. They’ve thrown in on the present race in pursuit of psychedelic breakthroughs for research institutes, clinics, therapeutic immersions, and destination experiences for research.

They have four divisions—Psyence Production, Psyence Therapeutics, Psyence Function, and Psyence Experience—expand their international footprint with operations in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Jamaica, South Africa and Australia.

Let’s step out of the formula for this kind of story and ask the question that’s on most folks minds when they hear about this kind of thing:

Do adaptogens actually work?

As is typical for products like this—proponents think so but more research is required. So basically the magic 8-ball is hazy. The general idea seems to be that adaptogens strengthen your adrenal glands in much the same way exercise does for your muscles. In the beginning there’s more stress than help, but after awhile our bodies grow accustomed to the strain (hence, the adapt in adaptogen).

Plants do this by interacting with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathoadrenal system, which handle the body’s stress responses. The general belief is that adaptogens may influence hormone production and physiological stress responses to make sure your body continues to function properly. Sure. For my buck, I’ll wait for the science, but there are loads of folks out there who eat this up. The global adaptogens market’s value is anticipated to be US$10.3B in 2020 according to Transparency Market Research in a recent study. The market is expected to reach US$23.4B by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of of 6.8%.

Regardless, Psyence, which had previously partnered with Pure Extracts Technologies (PULL.C) for their functional mushroom arm, has recently partnered with wellness and lifestyle brand, Goodleaf, with a range of products infused with African botanicals.

“Our experience in developing and launching new consumer products will be invaluable as we make headway in the functional mushroom space. There is no doubt that there is a growing demand for wellness products, and we are extremely excited to collaborate with Psyence, as we launch GOODMIND and bring a range of functional mushroom products to market,” said Warren Schewitz, founder and chief executive officer of Goodleaf.