Reasons, Form of Ingestion and Side Effects Associated with Consumption of Amanita muscaria.
Michal Ordak, Aleksandra Galazka, Tadeusz Nasierowski, Elzbieta Muszynska, Magdalena Bujalska-Zadrozny
Toxics April 17, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11040383 via PubMed
Summary
A new trend of consuming Amanita muscaria is analyzed through social media comments. Among 684 people, women mainly used the mushroom to reduce pain and skin problems, while men used it to relieve stress, depressive symptoms, and insomnia. Women predominantly consumed tinctures, whereas men used dried forms. Side effects differed by gender: women reported headaches, men reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and drowsiness. The authors call for advanced research to raise awareness of the fungus's toxicity.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 684 |
| Population | People in social media groups who stated purpose, form, or adverse symptoms of consuming Amanita muscaria |
| Keywords | Amanita muscaria Clinical symptoms Toxicology |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key finding | Gender differences were found in reasons for consumption, form taken, and adverse symptoms of Amanita muscaria. |
Abstract
In recent months, there has been a new trend involving the consumption of Amanita muscaria. The aim of this article was to investigate the reasons for consumption, the form taken and the adverse symptoms that were indicated by those consuming Amanita muscaria. After analysing 5600 comments, 684 people were included in the study, who, in social media groups such as Facebook, stated the purpose of consuming the mushroom (n = 250), the form of mushroom they were taking (n = 198) or the adverse symptoms they experienced (n = 236). The gender of the subjects differentiated the parameters analysed. In the study group of women, the main purpose of consuming Amanita muscaria was to reduce pain, as well as to reduce skin problems, while in men it was mainly to relieve stress, reduce the severity of depressive symptoms and reduce insomnia (p < 0.001). With regard to the form of mushroom ingested, tincture was predominant in the women's study group, while dried was predominant in the men (p < 0.001). In terms of side effects, women reported primarily headaches, while men reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and drowsiness (p < 0.001). Advanced research on Amanita muscaria should be carried out to make the community aware of the toxicity of this fungus.