It has recently been shown by one of us (W. W. Ford’) that the poisons of the fungus Amanita phalloides, the variety responsible for the great majority of deaths from mushroom intoxication, belong to the group of bacterial toxins. They were thus classified in virtue of their causing characteristic lesions in animals after a definite latent period, and because an immunity may be established towa...

Fungi in the basidiomycetous genus Amanita owe their high mammalian toxicity to the bicyclic octapeptide amatoxins such as α-amanitin. Amatoxins and the related phallotoxins (such as the heptapeptide phalloidin) are encoded by members of the "MSDIN" gene family and are synthesized on ribosomes as short (34- to 35-amino-acid) proproteins. Antiamanitin antibodies and confocal microscopy were used...

Release and dispersal of basidiospores of Amanita muscaria var. alba and their potential to infiltrate a nearby residence were investigated. Basidiospore release mainly occurred in the first three days following the expansion of the caps. The concentrations of released basidiospores near basidiomata were 77 137, 75 062, and 41 738 spores m(-3) in the first three days, respectively, with the hig...

The number of cases of mushroom poisoning is increasing as a result of the increasing popularity of "wild" mushroom consumption. Amanitin and phalloidin cytotoxins found in some Amanita and Galerina species produce the most severe and frequent life-threatening symptoms of Amanita phalloidestype poisoning. Delay in onset of symptoms, individual susceptibility variation and lack of rapid and reli...

It is estimated that there are over 5,000 species of mushrooms worldwide. Some of them are edible and some are poisonous due to containing significant toxins. In more than 95% of mushroom toxicity cases, poisoning occurs as a result of misidentification of the mushroom by an amateur mushroom hunter. The severity of mushroom poisoning may vary, depending on the geographic location where the mush...

The effect of different cooking and preservation methods on the nutritional and phytochemical composition of the mushroom, Amanita zambiana, was investigated. Fresh mushrooms were boiled in water, fried, or microwaved. In addition, fresh mushrooms were either air-dried for 7 days or frozen at -20°C for 14 days. The protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and phenolic content of the treated mushrooms were...

As part of our systematic study of Korean toxic mushrooms, we have investigated the constituents of Amanita subjunquillea. The column chromatographic separation of the MeOH extract of A. subjunquillea led to the isolation of four ergosterols, two cerebrosides and four cyclopeptides. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods to be (22E,24R)-5alpha,8alpha-epidioxyergosta-6,9,22-tr...

A total of 138 samples o f higher fungi, representing 35 species (15 belonging to the genus Amanita), were analysed for the trace element bromine using spectrophotom etric and gas chromatographic methods. High concentrations o f bromine, up to 100 m g/kg on dry weight, were encountered in Amanitaceae, especially in members o f the subsections Phalloideae and Eu-Amanita, whereas in other fungi t...

Among the violently poisonous species of Amanita, none has received more attention than A. phalloides (Fr.) Secr. By 1959, five related cyclopeptidic toxins had been extracted from this mushroom and named phalloidin, phalloin, and a-, j3-, and y-amanitin. T. Wieland and 0. Wieland (Pharmacol. Rev. 11:87, 1959) reviewed the chemistry and toxicology of these compounds. A sixth toxin, phallacidin,...