Fungi and Water
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy in Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
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.
Normal and Abnormal Intestinal Absorption by Humans
Shayne C. Gad in Toxicology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, 2018
Fungal toxins, such as amatoxins and orellanine, can cause severe organ damage in the human body. Amatoxins are bicyclic octapeptides, occurring in some Amanita, Galerina, and Lepiota species, that induce deficient protein synthesis resulting in cell death and also may exert toxicity through inducing apoptosis. Target organs are intestinal mucosa, liver, and kidneys. Poisoning generally results in dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, liver necrosis, and possibly kidney damage. Amatozins from Amanita phalloides and related species of mushrooms are associated with severe morbidity and a high mortality rate. Circulating amatoxins can be detected in the serum of poisoned patients as long as 30 hours after ingestion. Toxic effects are particularly high in susceptible cells, such as hepatocytes. The administration of cathartics, adsorbent agents, and gastroduodenal lavage are of value in preventing further absorption of toxins from the GI tract [77,78]
Amatoxin
Dongyou Liu in Handbook of Foodborne Diseases, 2018
The genus Amanita comprises more than 1300 gilled mushroom species and varieties, some of which are deadly poisonous (e.g., Amanita abrupta, Amanita arocheae, Amanita bisporigera [eastern NA destroying angel], Amanita exitialis [Guangzhou destroying angel], Amanita magnivelaris, Amanita ocreata [western NA destroying angel], Amanita phalloides [Euro-Asian death cap], Amanita smithiana, Amanita subjunquillea [East Asian death cap], Amanita verna [fool's mushroom], and Amanita virosa [European destroying angel]) [3]. In particular, A. phalloides (Euro-Asian death cap) is associated with the most fatalities and often mistaken for edible paddy straw mushroom, whereas A. bisporigera (eastern NA destroying angel) may be mistaken for edible nontoxic Lepiota naucina. Morphologically, A. phalloides (Euro-Asian death cap) has a subovoid-convex eventually subplanar cap (pileus) of 5–16 cm across, which usually appears yellowish green, but sometimes appears olive to light brown (often paler toward the margins and after rain) with darker streaks radiating outward. The gills (lamellae) underneath the cap are crowded, free from the stem, white or whitish cream with slight yellow-greenish tinge in side view. The stem (stipe) is 5–15 cm long and 1–2 cm thick, white, with a membranous ring (annulus) about 1–1.5 cm below, and a base bulbous with a cup-like or saccate volva, which is often hidden by leaf litter and measures 2–3.5 cm × 1.6–5 cm (Figure 93.2a). In aged A. phalloides, the odor is distinctively repugnant (sickeningly sweet, rotten honey or carrion like).
Toxicity of muscimol and ibotenic acid containing mushrooms reported to a regional poison control center from 2002–2016
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2019
Michael J. Moss, Robert G. Hendrickson
There are several Amanita mushroom species throughout the world which contain ibotenic acid and muscimol including Amanita. Muscaria (AM), A. pantherina (AP), A. gemmata, A. aprica, and A. regalis [1–3]. AM has been used by various cultures for religious activities, supporting work and physical exercise, and medicinal purposes [4]. Modern usage is generally for recreational and psychoactive effects [5]. Ibotenic acid and muscimol are isoxazole derivatives that resemble the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, respectively [6]. Thus, ibotenic acid may induce excitatory effects while muscimol causes sedative effects. There are numerous other chemical constituents in these species of mushrooms that have unknown effects. Muscarine, once thought to be the primary toxin in AM, has been shown to be present only in miniscule quantities [7].
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.
A Gratuitous Grace: The Influence of Religious Set and Intent on the Psychedelic Experience
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2018
Logan Neitzke-Spruill, Carol Glasser
Entheogen, a term for psychedelics when they are used for spiritual purposes, means “that which causes god to be within an individual” (Miller 2015, 4). It is hypothesized that some of today’s major religions, such as Christianity and Hinduism, originate from the use of psychedelic drugs. Some of the earliest evidence of this stems from the ancient Hindu texts known as Vedas (Miller 2015). Within these texts, there are references to mystical experiences prompted by a substance called Soma, which some have concluded to be the famous mushroom, amanita muscaria. Similarly, based on his translations of ancient Sumerian texts, John Marco Allegro (1973) attributed the origins of Christianity to the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Likewise, Benny Shanon (2008) hypothesized that certain biblical events were the result of encounters with entheogenic plants native to the Holy Land and the Sinai Peninsula (i.e., the acacia tree), which contain psychoactive compounds similar to those found in ayahuasca.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Amanita Muscaria
- Amanita Phalloides
- Amatoxin
- Destroying Angel
- Toxicity
- Species
- Mushroom Poisoning
- Α-Amanitin
- Amanita Virosa
- Amanita Ocreata