The Effects of the Poisoning of Death Cap Mushrooms
The most deadly poisonous fungi are two types of Death Cap called Amanita phalloides and its albino form A. phalloides ssp. verna. Their caps are white or various shades of green, their cuticle does not usually exhibit any remnants of a veil whilst , their stipe, which widens at the base, is encased in a tall, membranous, white volva.
The Amanita genus, however, contains some other definitely very poisonous species. These arc the well-known Fly Agari (Amanita muscaria), which according to the most recent research contains many substances whose quantity and physiological effects are indeterminate and the poisoning from which show, itself in different ways. Long ago an extract from the fruit-body of this Amanita was mixed with sugar and used to kill flies.
Phalloidin attacks the liver cells and acts very quickly; in fact, within 15 minutes it can cause cellular changes. A fatal dose is about 1 milligram to each kilogram of’, the body-weight of a human being.
A perspective can be realized when it is known that 100 g of the fresh fruit-bodies of the Death Cap, or the equivalent of 5 g of dried mushrooms, contain approximately 10 mg of this poisonous substance.
The Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina) occupies second place, after the Death Cap in terms of the number of accidents caused’ by poisoning in the majority of European countries. In this instance the nature of the poisoning is similar to that caused by Fly Agaric, but it is stronger and more dangerous.
The number of cases of poisoning caused by this Amanita has multiplied in recent years due to an increase in the collection of the Blusher mushroom (A. rubescens) and also occasionally that of A. spissa..
