Hofmann hypothesized that the compound was a circulatory and respiratory stimulant a far cry from the entheogen that so many have come to revere today. Number 25 was lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). In total, Hofmann synthesized 25 different chemical compounds from the chemical constituents that were naturally present in ergot before landing on an unexpected jackpot. From ergotamine, Sandoz was able to create the drug Gynergen, which they marketed as a treatment for hemorrhage during childbirth, as well as an aid for migraines. Hofmann’s employer, Sandoz, a pharmaceutical company that’s still operating today, wanted to isolate potentially beneficial compounds from ergot to market as pharmaceutical medicine. But, as far back as the 1500s, it was also used as an important medicine in midwifery. The fungus, which most frequently inhabits rye grain, is responsible for waves of fatal poisonings that affected thousands of people during the middle ages.

Ergot is a parasitic fungus with an unusual history.

Instead, he was following in the footsteps of other pharmaceutical chemists, who were exploring the potential of the ergot fungus ( Claviceps purpurea) in medicine. When Hofmann first synthesized LSD, creating a synthetic psychedelic was certainly not his intention.