The Chemistry of the Amatoxins, Phallotoxins and Virotoxins

Abstract

Chemical work in Amanita research consisted in the separation and purification of the toxicologically active components of the mushrooms as well as of antamanide and the other cycloamanides, and, lastly, of the hemolytic phallolysin. In this chapter, the chemistry of the toxic cyclopeptides will be described. The procedures for separation and isolation of the components and their characteristic chemical and physical features have been considered in foregoing sections; now the chemist has to reveal the structures of the substances, including the spatial arrangement of the atoms, followed by an attempt to synthesize the compounds. By chemical modification and synthesis, information will be obtained on which parts of the molecules are essential for biological activity. After elucidation of the biochemical mechanisms of their reactions in the cell, the cyclopeptides, after labelling with radioactive isotopes or with suitable probes, can be used as specific tools for the exploration of biological phenomena.