Toxicity, toxins and mushroom poisoning

Introduction to mushroom toxicity

The first essential notion to keep in mind when evaluating the edibility or toxicity of mushrooms is the following:

"Fungus, qualiscumque sit, semper malignus est" - The fungus is always harmful to health, whatever it is.

The toxicity of fungi is divided into intrinsic (own) and extrinsic toxicity, the latter originating from the environment in which it is found and which involves contamination by: chemical principles, radioactive agents and heavy metals.

Each mushroom has an intrinsic phenomenological toxic potential; in fact, among the consumers of mushrooms, there are frequent manifestations of intolerances linked both to the first consumption and following several consecutive uses.
NB. Mannitol, a chemical component of mushrooms often present in high concentrations, can also cause gastrointestinal disorders such as osmotic diarrhea.
In addition to intolerances, mushrooms can give rise to real allergies; the human immune system typically reacts to some specific varieties (such as Paxillus involutus), which trigger the reaction only from the second consumption (after a first hypersensitization phase). However, the allergic damage that fungi can cause to the organism may also depend on a hereditary enzyme deficiency linked to the expression of the trehalasis, the specific enzyme that converts the trehalose (carbohydrate) into glucose.
The presence of hypersensitizing and / or toxic principles in mushrooms is therefore related both to intrinsic factors of the various species and to the habitat of the mushroom, as well as to the cooking method, the dose, and also to the subjectivity of the consumer.

Mushroom toxins

Mushroom poisoning can be classified into two broad branches:

Those that do NOT directly affect mental functions
Those that cause psychological alterations.

Among those that do NOT directly affect mental functions we recognize:

Intoxications phalloidic: deadly, late, caused by Amanita phalloides, Amanita verna, Amanita virosa.
Intoxications paraphalloid: often fatal, even late, caused by Lepiota belveola And Cortinarius orellanus.
Intoxications muscarinic: almost never fatal, caused by Amanita muscaria, Amanita pantherina, Clitocybe rivalosa, Clitocybe dealbata, Clitocybe cerussata And Inocybe patouillardi.
Intoxications inconstant or conditional: sometimes serious and even fatal, caused by idiosyncratic phenomena, irregular in manifestations and and molitic, caused by Gyromitra esculenta and some covers such as the Coprinus atramentarius.
Poisoning caused ONLY following consumption RAW: caused by some Morchellas and by Sarcosphaera coronaria.
Type intoxications gastrointestinal: sometimes as serious as those caused by "Entoloma lividum, from Tricholoma tigrinum and from Clitocybe olearia, others less worrying and caused by many other fungi.
Intoxications botulinum: due to the consumption of fungi altered by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum.

Among those that cause psychological alterations:

The intoxications which affect mental manifestations, or with psychotropic action: fungi that cause excitement, aphrodysism, hysteria, such as Amanita muscaria and maybe the Amanita pantherina.
The intoxications from hallucinogenic mushrooms: different species of the genera Panseolus, Stropharia, Psilocybe and some Lycoperdon of tropical countries.
Mushroom poisoning with ergotinic action: the Claviceps purpurea.

Danger of toxic fungal syndromes

Mushroom poisoning is better said mycetisms and they are distinguished, on the basis of the time lapse between the ingestion of the mushrooms and the appearance of the first symptoms, in: long latency syndromes and short latency syndromes.
Those with long latency are irreversible and occur from 6-8 hours or after 12-24 hours or after 6-7 days; those with short latency, rarely fatal, occur immediately after ingestion, from the first 15-30 minutes to the following 3-6 hours.
NB. The precocity of the symptom leaves time to the rapidity of the curative intervention which is mostly concentrated with the removal of fungi not yet fully digested and absorbed.

Management of mushroom poisoning

The management of fungal intoxication begins early, that is from the simple doubt of the presence of intoxication symptoms. The signs and symptoms that may occur are many and extremely heterogeneous: from psychological disorders to severe and worsening clinical pictures.
Ultimately, in order to effectively combat mushroom poisoning, it is necessary to intervene promptly by relying on the hospitals which are entrusted with the decisive intervention; while waiting, if possible: