Beware of the fly agaric mushroom. “One hat is enough to die”

This dangerous mushroom contains a number of toxic compounds – phallotoxins, such as phalloidin or phallolysin, and amatoxins, such as amanitin. – The former destroy human blood cells, but they are mostly unstable substances that decompose when heated – said Dr. Hab. Marta Wrzosek, lecturer at the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. Unfortunately, the situation is worse with toxins from the second group.

– Amanitin does not decompose easily, even long cooking does not destroy it. To be destroyed, amatoxins must be subjected to a temperature of at least 260 degrees C, so the mushroom will char sooner than that, the mycologist explained. She warned that the most dangerous poisonous mushroom in Europe is the green fly agaric, also known as the fly agaric mushroom.

– One hat is enough to die from poisoning – she pointed out.

It is amanitin that makes the fly agaric mushroom deadly dangerous to humans. It causes the destruction of liver cells.

– The entire cellular machinery in the liver stops. It's like putting a stick in the spokes of a bicycle – it won't go any further. It's the same with the liver. After the formation of RNA stops, the cells undergo apoptosis, i.e. they simply dissolve, the expert said. Often, the only solution for people poisoned by Amanita fly agaric is a liver transplant, but it is not always possible to save the victims' lives. Firstly, because the symptoms of poisoning appear late – after six, and sometimes even after 16 hours, when the toxins have already penetrated the blood. Time is a very important factor here.

Therefore, when dizziness and headaches, colic, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid heart rate and breathing difficulties appear, the poisoned person should be transported to hospital as soon as possible, suggesting possible Amanita green poisoning, which may speed up the procedures – including the search for a suitable donor. The time that has passed since mushroom consumption is of fundamental importance for the prognosis. – The problem is that when poisoning with this mushroom occurs, it usually affects entire families, because several green toadstools end up in a common pot with other tasty mushrooms – she said. She added that the poisoned people must be taken to the intensive care unit, where the equipment will support their vital functions until a donor is found, and in smaller hospitals there are two ICU beds, not five, so patients have to be transported further.

– Doctors must quickly decide who to save and who to send to another hospital, which may mean a verdict, because time is against them – Wrzosek illustrated.

However, the expert noted that fortunately this year, apart from one case, there were no cases of poisoning with these mushrooms.

– Their number is decreasing every year, which is the result of education and growing awareness of mushroom pickers, but let's be vigilant, because the mushroom season is underway – she concluded.