Mushroom poisoning: An updated review

Poisonous mushrooms cause clinical syndromes ranging from gastrointestinal irritation to death. Over 90% of mushroom-poisoning deaths are due to cyclopeptide-amatoxin-containing species, especially Amanita phalloides. This article reviews the clinical syndromes, toxin mechanisms, and current treatments for various poisonous mushroom species.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Mushrooms have been consumed frequently worldwide since ancient times. In addition to edible and harmless species, there are also poisonous species that cause a wide range of clinical syndromes, from simple gastrointestinal (GI) irritation to death. However, it is not possible to distinguish the poisonous species from some edible species morphologically. Therefore, the unintentional consumption of mushrooms is an important public health problem. Mushrooms can be categorized according to their toxins, such as cyclopeptides, gyromitrin, muscarine, coprine, orellanine, psilocybin, and GI irritants. Mushrooms containing cyclopeptide-amatoxin are responsible for more than 90% of deaths due to mushroom poisoning. Amanita phalloides is responsible for many fatal cases because of the toxicity of this species. This article reviews the clinical syndromes that may develop after the consumption of various poisonous mushroom species, the mechanisms of action of their toxins, and the current treatments applied.