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Fungi and Water
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Mushrooms of the genus Amanita are the most toxic and often deadly. For example, the species Amanita phalloides (known as ‘death cap’) causes the most fatalities in the world (94). The toxic agents of different amanitas are amatoxins. The pathogenicity of mushrooms depends on cyclopeptide toxins, and reports indicate that amatoxins account for 90% of fatal mushroom poisonings and have their most significant impact on the liver (95). For the rapid detection of amatoxins in urine samples of intoxicated people, a rapid immunoassay called lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has been recently developed (98). Urine is sampled directly without the need for any pretreatment, detection from urine is completed in ten min, and the results are read by the eye, without the need for specialized equipment (98). Mushroom poisonings occur every year between June and December, the period of mushroom harvesting (95). Some well-known poisonous mushrooms will be described as follows.
Diseases of the Nervous System
Published in George Feuer, Felix A. de la Iglesia, Molecular Biochemistry of Human Disease, 2020
George Feuer, Felix A. de la Iglesia
Mushroom poisoning or mycetism is connected with widely varying classes of neurotoxins.364 These include Amanita muscaria, which produces ibotenic acid, muscimol and muscazone, and Inocybes and Clitocybes mushrooms, which produce muscarine. Amanita phalloides is the most toxic mushroom; they synthesize amatoxins: cyclic octapeptides and phallotoxins:cyclic heptapeptides.90,165,268 The principal amatoxin is amanitin, and the most important phallotoxin is phalloidin. The action of various mushroom toxins resides in the effects on several nerve functions such as GABA-like action inhibiting central neurons, inhibition of RNA polymease II, depletion of nuclear RNA preventing protein synthesis, and disruption or dissolution of cell membranes and membranes of lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi bodies.176,231,268
Amatoxin
Published in Dongyou Liu, Handbook of Foodborne Diseases, 2018
Since approximately 90% and 95% of deaths from mushroom poisonings worldwide are attributable to Amanita and other amatoxin-producing species, respectively, we present an overview on amatoxin in relation to its classification, structure, biology, epidemiology, clinical signs, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention [2].
A comparison of the accuracy of mushroom identification applications using digital photographs
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2023
Sarah E. Hodgson, Christine McKenzie, Tom W. May, Shaun L. Greene
We postulated that an app providing highly accurate identification of mushrooms, particularly poisonous species, may reduce the number of cases requiring mycologist involvement in specimen identification. In addition, we aimed to evaluate the performance of these apps in potentially assisting foragers in discriminating poisonous species, and therefore reducing the number of individuals being accidentally poisoned. Whilst Picture Mushroom was the most accurate identification app, correctly identifying the most mushroom specimens in general, and the most poisonous mushroom specimens; Mushroom Identificator correctly identified more samples of Amanita phalloides. None of the mushroom identification apps, however, were able to correctly identify every specimen of the amatoxin-containing mushroom Amanita phalloides. There were also cases of other toxic species being mis-identified, often as edible species.
Amanitin intoxication: effects of therapies on clinical outcomes – a review of 40 years of reported cases
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2022
Jia Lin Tan, Janine Stam, Aad P. van den Berg, Patrick F. van Rheenen, Bart G. J. Dekkers, Daan J. Touw
Several molecular mechanisms may be involved in amatoxin toxicity. One of the well-known mechanisms is the interaction of amatoxins with the RNA polymerase II enzyme. After gastrointestinal absorption, amatoxin is taken up by hepatocytes via organic anion-transporting octapeptide transporters [152]. Intracellularly, amatoxins bind to the RNA polymerase II enzyme, inhibiting messenger RNA production, eventually causing cell death [8,152,153]. Other possible mechanisms include the induction of apoptosis via p53- and caspase-3-dependent pathways, tumor necrosis factor-α upregulation in liver cells, and induction of oxidative stress [8,154]. In theory, the commonly used therapies PEN, SIL, and NAC treat intoxications with amanitin-containing mushrooms by tackling one of the aforementioned mechanisms [8,14,17,152,153,155–157].
Lepiota cristata does not contain amatoxins or phallotoxins
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2018
Ismail Yilmaz, Ilgaz Akata, Sinan Bakirci, Ertugrul Kaya
Amatoxins are a group of bicyclic octapeptides that occur in some Amanita, Galerina and Lepiota species. Alpha amanitin (AA), beta amanitin (BA), gamma amanitin (GA), epsilon amanitin, amaninamide, amanin and amanullin are some of the members of the amatoxin group. The phallotoxins include phalloidin (PHN), phallacidin (PCN), phallolisin, phallin and phallisasin (Enjalbert et al., 1999; Kaya et al., 2014a; Kaya et al., 2015). Intoxications by amatoxin-containing mushrooms account for only a small part of all poisonings (3%), which does not reduce their importance because almost all lethal mushroom poisonings are caused by amatoxins. It is assumed that AA is the most toxic agent in mushrooms. Amatoxins are more toxic than phallotoxins. While the toxic effect of phallotoxins is mild and causes alterations of the cellular membrane of enterocytes, amatoxins are the agents mainly responsible for fatal clinical poisonings (Bakirci et al., 2015; Escudié et al., 2007; Kaya et al., 2014b; Yilmaz et al., 2014). Edible and toxic mushrooms are often misidentified by mushroom collectors. One mushroom that is frequently confused in this respect is Lepiota cristata; its consumption can create a hazardous situation.