Mushrooms are a marvel worth digging into—literally and figuratively! These fabulous fungi come in a range of colors, shapes, and sizes and grow in places all over the world, which means there’s so much to learn about them.
In the fall, you can forage for them in forests. The right kinds will add flavor to your dinner and provide you with plenty of nutrients.
However, mushrooms are rather mysterious and some can be stranger than others. Of course, it is well-known that there are poisonous mushrooms among the edible ones, and knowing the difference between them is critical.
Yet, researchers from Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute have investigated the question of whether or not mushrooms are truly poisonous.
They examined a toxin called muscarine, which is found in many types of mushrooms. The best known is the fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria), for which the toxin is named after.
Even so, significantly higher concentrations of muscarine can be found in fiber cap mushrooms and fool’s funnel mushrooms.
The researchers were able to prove that muscarine is not just present in mushrooms as a toxin, but it can also be stored as a harmless compound, only becoming released when mushrooms are injured.
Muscarine was discovered 150 years ago as the first fungal toxin. In the new study, it was determined that muscarine is stored in the fool’s funnel mushroom (Clitocybe rivulosa) as 4phosphomuscarin, which is not as toxic.
“There are other indications that other substances are also present because pure muscarine apparently has a different effect than a mushroom containing muscarine,” said Sebastian Dorner, a doctoral researcher who was one of the study authors.
Dister/Wirestock Creators – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only – pictured above is a mushroom in the woods
The fool’s funnel mushroom has also been referred to as the false champignon because it can be easily confused with the real champignon.
When the mushroom is damaged, whether by cutting, cooking, or digestion, an enzyme releases the poisonous muscarine. That is the only time the toxin becomes active.
In other mushrooms, muscarine is already present in its active form, likely as a way to defend themselves from predators.
The fact that muscarine can be differentiated between free active and “hidden” inactive (meaning it only becomes actively poisonous when eaten) makes some mushrooms all the more dangerous for human consumption.
The results of the study could aid doctors and toxicologists in getting a more accurate sense of the actual danger of certain fungi, leading to more effective treatments for poisoning cases.
Muscarine affects the signals that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine sends out and causes permanent excitation.
Symptoms of muscarine ingestion include increased salivation, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, circulatory collapse, and even cardiac paralysis.
The study was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
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