ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to summarize toxic components occurring in mushrooms. It deals with the syndromes produced by amatoxins and orrellanine, which cause by far the greatest number of fatalities. The toxicokinetics of the amatoxins are largely determined by their low molecular weight and amphilic nature, i.e., solubility in water as well as in polar organic solvents. In 1962, S. Grzymala prepared from Cortinarius mushrooms an almost pure toxin fraction for which he coined the name orellanine. Muscarine certainly represents the most famous mushroom poison. Moreover, muscarine was long considered to be toxin produced by all poisonous mushrooms. Mushrooms containing hallucinogenic indole derivatives are found in genera Psylocybe, Panaeolus, Pholiotina, Gymnopilus, and, possibly, Panaeolina. Two mushroom species have been identified that can cause hemolytic anemia by immunoreaction: Paxillus involutus and Suillus luteus. Symptoms of poisoning caused by muscarine include salivation, lacrimation, perspiration, nausea, vomiting, headache, visual disturbances, abdominal colic, diarrhea bradycardia, and hypotension.
