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Leave The Cap on That Bottle of Booze When Consuming Inky Cap Mushrooms.
Better decline this time.
The Coprinopsis atramentaria, commonly known as the ordinary inky cap, is an edible mushroom found in Europe and North America.
You might wonder why I would include this in a series on potentially fatal mushrooms and plants if this mushroom is edible.
This mushroom can cause symptoms that might mimic a heart attack if alcohol is ingested either when eating these mushrooms or up to three days after.
These symptoms are called disulfiram-like reactions. Disulfiram or Antabuse is a drug used to cause these symptoms if any alcohol is ingested. This drug is given to help alcoholics reframe from alcohol.
Toxic Dose
Toxic doses have not been studied in humans, but a standard serving of these mushrooms can induce a disulfiram-like reaction if alcohol has been ingested.
The severity of symptoms appears related to the amounts of mushrooms and alcohol ingested and the time interval between them. No fatalities have been reported.
Pharmacokinetics
There is a delay of onset between mushroom ingestion and inhibition of liver enzymes while the active metabolite is formed.
