More than 5 million Americans in treatment for depression could benefit from therapy with psilocybin -- the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," a new study finds.

A new study has estimated more than five million Americans could reap benefits if the Food and Drug Administration approved psilocybin as a treatment for depression. Psilocybin is a psychoplastogen, which refers to a compound capable of promoting rapid and sustained neuroplasticity.

Breakthrough therapy designations have been granted to use the active ingredient in magic mushrooms to treat depression and a broader approval may be coming.