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Poisonous Mushrooms

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Clinical Toxinology in Asia Pacific and Africa

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI,volume 2))

Abstract

Mushrooms are the sexual organs or fruiting bodies of fungi. Although some mushrooms are considered to be a rich source for nutrients and biologically active compounds, some species are known because of their toxicity that may cause fatalities every year generally due to misidentification. Among thousands of mushroom species, fewer than a hundred are toxic. Mushroom poisoning is associated with different signs and symptoms that are mainly attributed to some active substances belonging to poisonous mushrooms. Most mushroom toxins cause mild or moderate signs and symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, and headache. However, some species result in severe poisoning. Renal failure, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, rhabdomyolysis, and other toxic effects were identified in toxicity studies with various species.

The toxicity of mushroom is influenced by many factors including genus and species, geographic location, preparation prior to ingestion, and the human’s susceptibility. This chapter is aimed to address various types of mushroom toxins, thus providing some information about their toxic mechanisms, a brief description of the toxicokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) of mushroom toxins, and management of mushroom poisonings.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Toxicology Research Center and Pharmacy School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Gholamreza Karimi

  2. Department of Pharmacodynamy and Toxicology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Bibi Marjan Razavi

Authors
  1. Gholamreza Karimi
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  2. Bibi Marjan Razavi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gholamreza Karimi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Venom and Toxin Research Programme Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    P. Gopalakrishnakone

  2. Professor of Medicine (Rtd), Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Abul Faiz

  3. Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Ravindra Fernando

  4. Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Christeine Ariaranee Gnanathasan

  5. Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit Department of Medicine, Bayero University Kano Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria

    Abdulrazaq Garba Habib

  6. Department of Medicine, School of Medicine National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chen-Chang Yang

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Karimi, G., Razavi, B.M. (2015). Poisonous Mushrooms. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Faiz, A., Fernando, R., Gnanathasan, C., Habib, A., Yang, CC. (eds) Clinical Toxinology in Asia Pacific and Africa. Toxinology, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6386-9_42

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