Mushroom Toxicity
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biology
research papers
published 13/11/2007
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level : Advanced
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Mushrooms are often considered the vermin of the vegetable world, likened to snakes, slugs, and worms. Some are regarded as mystical and others as delicacies. The location of tasty morels is passed from generation to generation, closely guarded from strangers. Each autumn and spring, foragers scour the woods for known delicacies, and new ones untried. Some mushroom foragers search for "little brown mushrooms," not for their taste, but to evoke hallucinations.
Table of Contents
- Eating unidentified or misidentified species can be dangerous. Each year there are 10,000 to 15,000 cases of mushroom toxicity in the United States.
- As a mushroom emerges from the ground, it is covered with a membrane or veil.
- The stalk (stipe) begins at the cap and ends either underground or in a cup (vulva).
- The most common commercially available mushroom in the United States is Agaricus bisporus.
- GI symptoms after ingestion of mushrooms may not be caused by toxins.
- Victims with GI symptoms can be divided into those with early and those with delayed presentations.
- Any person with unexplained acute renal failure should be questioned about prior wild mushroom ingestion.
