Mushroom Toxins

true or false. it is easy to safely identify edible mushrooms

false

the stipe of the mushroom is also known as what?

stalk

the pileus of the mushroom is also known as what

cap

the lamellae of the mushroom is also known as what?

gills

the annulus of the mushroom is also known as what?

ring

the volva of the mushroom is also known as what?

cup

what are the scales on a mushroom?

remnants of the universal veil

what part of the mushroom contains spores?

gills

what is the name of a mushroom at the beginning of development?

button

what is confused with the button phase of mushrooms and are accidentally eaten?

puff balls

what technique is most commonly used to identify mushrooms? what does it tell us?

spore prints; spore color

apart from spore color, what are other identification features of mushrooms?

type of hymenium, features of gill trama, features of cystidia

what is the hymenium?

spore containing tissue found on the underside of mushroom cap

what is are gill trama?

spongy tissue within the gills

what are cystidia?

non-spore producing cells found on the surface of mushrooms

which types of mushroom toxins affect the autonomic nervous system?

coprine and muscarine

how quick is the onset of symptoms in coprine and muscarine toxins?

2 minutes-2 hours

what is the mechanism of action of muscarine?

agonist to muscarinic receptors

what mushroom genus produces coprine?

coprinus

what toxin does clitocybe clavipes produce?

coprine

which mushrooms are known as "inky cap" mushrooms? why are they given this name?

coprinus; as tissue at the end of the cap degrades, an ink-like substance is released allowing spores to be dispersed

what is the mechanism of action of coprine?

inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase

why is it dangerous to combine alcohol with coprine?

coprine prevents the metabolism of alchohol causing an alcohol flush reaction

what symptoms are caused by coprine + alcohol exposure (coprinus syndrome)?

facial flushing, headache, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia

true or false. coprine is heat stable so it can't be destroyed through cooking

true

the symptoms of coprinus syndrome are similar to what?

alcohol withdrawing drug, disulfiram

which mushroom genus produce muscarine?

clitocybe and inocybe

what was muscarine first isolated from?

Amanita muscaria

structure of muscarine

structure of acetylcholine

what part of the autonomic nervous system does muscarine effect?

peripheral parasympathetic nervous system

why is muscarine a good agonist of muscarinic receptors?

similar structure to acetylcholine

why is muscarine poorly absorbed by the GI tract?

it is a quarternary ammonium salt

true or false. muscarine does not cross the blood-brain barrier

true

true or false. muscarinic receptors in the brain are affected by muscarine

false

which toxins affect the central nervous system?

ibotenic acid and muscimol

how quick is the onset of symptoms of ibotenic acid and muscimol?

20 minutes-2 hours

what mushroom genus produces ibotenic acid and muscimol?

amanita, panaeolus, conocybem, gymnopilus

which mushroom is known to produce psychedelic effects?

amanita muscarina

mechanism of action of ibotenic acid

weak agonist of glutamate receptors

true or false. even a minimal dose of ibotenic acid is dangerous

false

what is the precursor to muscimol?

ibotenic acid

what is more dangerous ibotenic acid or muscimol?

muscimol

mechanism of action of muscimol?

agonist for GABAA receptors

what symptoms result from an exposure to muscimol?

sedative, hypnotic, depressant, and hallucinogenic psychoactivity

what color is ibotenic acid?

bright red

what color is muscimol?

colorless or white

apart from muscimol what other toxin is known to have psychoactive effects?

psilocin

what mushroom genus produces psilosybin?

conocybe, gymnopilus, panaeolus, psilocybe

what is the precursor to psilocin

psilocybin

structure of psilocybin and psilocin

what is unique about psilocybin's structure that causes some of its effect

it has a similar structure to serotonin

what symptoms are a result of psilocin exposure?

euphoria, hallucinations, altered perception, distorted sense of time, spiritual experiences, nausea, panic attacks

which toxin produces similar effects to LSD, mescaline, and DMT?

psilocin

what has psilocybin been used to treat?

depression

which mushroom toxins can cause cellular destruction, liver and kidney damage, and death?

amanitins (cyclopeptides), gyromitrin, orellanine

how quick is the onset of symptoms for amanitins and gyromitrin?

6-10 hours

90% of deaths from mushrooms are caused by which mushroom toxin

amanitin

what mushroom genus produce amanitin?

amanita, galerina, lepiota, and conocybe

what is the mechanism of toxicity of amanitins?

it inhibits DNA transcription carried out my RNA polymerase II by inhibiting the production of mRNA which prevents the production of proteins necessary for cellular function

what mushroom genus produces gyromitrin?

gyromitra, helvella, sarcosphaera

gyromitrin gets converted into what?

monomethyl hydrazine

what led to the discovery of gyromitrin toxicity?

space travel

what does gyromitirin/monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) do in cells?

acts as a hemolytic, depletes vitamin B6, reduces GABA synthesis

how long might it take for symptoms to show in orellanine toxicity?

8 days

what mushroom genus produce orellanine?

cortinarius

what is the result of orellanine exposure?

kidney failure