gations were surprising. The active principles of the 
Mexican morning glory drugs proved to be ergot alka- 
loids. The two main components were, in the case of 
both seeds, d-lysergic acid amide (ergine) and d-isolyser- 
gic acid amide (isoergine), whilst four additional alkaloids 
were present. The former are closely related to d-lysergic 
acid diethylamide (LSD), which we had, as has already 
been mentioned, produced synthetically and investigated 
many years before. From the phytochemical point of 
view, this finding was unexpected and of particular in- 
terest, because lysergic acid alkaloids, which had hitherto 
been found only in the lower fungi in the genus Clavi- 
ceps, were now, for the first time, indicated for the higher 
plants, in the phanerogamic family Convolvulaceae. 
The isolation of lysergic acid amides from ololiuhqui 
closed what is in reality a most strangely coincidental 
circle of research. 
It was with the discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide 
(LSD) as a highly active psychotomimetic agent, during 
investigations on simple lysergic acid amides, that our 
research in the field of hallucinogenic compounds com- 
menced. It was within the framework of this activity 
that the sacred Mexican fungi came to our laboratories. 
It was during the course of these investigations that I 
made personal contact with Wasson. And it was as a 
result of this contact that the investigations of ololiuhqui 
were conducted. In this sacred drug, lysergic acid am- 
ides, which made their appearance in the initial stages of 
our psychotomimetic research, were again found as active 
principles. 
Former investigations on ololiuhqui 
In the classical study of the ololiuhqui problem by 
R. E. Schultes, published in 19417 (in which the histori- 
eal, ethnographical and taxonomical aspects are treated 
[ 200 | 
