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Beware of The Amanita Phalloides Mushroom, Also Known as The Death Cap.
Cyclopeptide mushrooms are ones you don’t want to stuff.
Cyclopeptide mushrooms account for almost all fatal mushroom poisons. Cyclopeptides are also found in other mushroom genera, such as Lepiota, Galerina, and Conocybe.
Amanita phalloides are eaten by mistake by those who confuse them with edible species.
Primary toxicity is from liver damage and kidney failure.
Mortality has decreased during the last decades, possibly due to improved supportive care.
Toxic Dose
A lethal dose of amatoxins in an adult is 5–7 mg or about 0.1mg/kg or less of body weight. This amount can be present in one new amanita phalloides cap weighing two ounces (fresh mushrooms contain about 94% water).
Concentrations vary widely. Amatoxins are not destroyed by drying, freezing, or cooking.
Children are much more susceptible to these toxins since the toxic dose is based on body weight.
Pharmacokinetics
Studies in humans are limited.
Urinary excretion of amatoxins can occur over 96 hours or more after ingestion. Toxin removal is delayed due to enterohepatic…
