Low-dose Psilocybin: Metabolic Benefits Without Psychedelic Effects
29.01.2026
A preclinical study, published in the journal "Pharmacological Research" and led by the Universities of Padua and Milan, shows that chronic administration of very low, non-psychedelic doses of psilocybin produces metabolic benefits in models of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD).
In a diet-induced metabolic disease model, long-term treatment with psilocybin resulted in reduced weight gain, improved insulin sensitivity, normalised blood glucose levels, and regression of fatty liver, without reducing food intake and without side effects on the central nervous system.
Through molecular analysis, the study demonstrated an almost complete normalisation of liver metabolism, reducing "toxic" fats and reactivating mechanisms that allow insulin to function properly; these changes also reflect a visible improvement in liver structure and key metabolic indicators.
"These data challenge the idea that the therapeutic potential of psilocybin is necessarily linked to the psychedelic experience," observes Sara De Martin, corresponding author of the research and professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Padua. "At chronic low doses, psilocybin acts as a peripheral modulator of metabolism, particularly at the liver level, through a distinct serotonergic pathway."
"These studies, conducted in an experimental mouse model, suggest that psilocybin could represent a new treatment for MASLD, type 2 diabetes, and obesity in humans," adds Franco Folli, corresponding author and professor at the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Milan.
The study was conducted as part of an international and multi-institutional collaboration, led by the University of Padua and the University of Milan, with the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) in Bellinzona, the Socio-Sanitary Territorial Company (ASST) of the Seven Lakes in Varese, and the University of Insubria, supported by MGGM Therapeutics (New York) and Neuroarbor Therapeutics (Delaware), involving research centres in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States.
