On Dec 10, 8:38 pm, "Jeff Layman" wrote:
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

You are absolutely correct, do you know that mushrooms can be taken
to the pharmacy for identification? Out of a whole basket, only one
type of mine was edible! The others could be eaten, with the
exception of one sounding like amoneta? but they would taste awful,
so the pharmacist said. I will stick to buying them in the shop I
think.

Amanita. That genus contains several deadly fungi, including the death
cap, fool's mushroom and destroying angel. Wikipedia claims that
Amanita accounts for 95% of deaths by mushroom poisoning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita

The problem with A. phalloides is that there are two toxins. The first acts
within a few hours, and will lead to vomiting. But by then the second toxin
will have been absorbed, and with that the effects don't show for around 24
hours. By that time it has already destroyed many liver cells. As if that
wasn't bad enough, it is excreted in the bile, and is reabsorbed further
down the gut. From there it goes back to the liver, and destroys more
cells. And so on. In the end, only a liver transplant could ensure
survival.

Many years ago the only way to stop this process was to temporarily damage
the liver cells in another way (believe it or not by using carbon
tetrachloride - the original "Thawpit" dry cleaning fluid). In this way the
amanita toxin could not do its deadly work on the liver cells, and was
eventually excreted. Unfortunately, if the dose of carbon tetrachloride was
too high, that also killed the liver cells. So there weren't too many
survivors either way round. When an antitoxin becomes available it should
be the treatment method of choice.

I read somewhere quite recently that the spores are also toxic. So even if
you didn't eat the Death Cap itself, if its spores had fallen on other
edible mushrooms in your basket, some degree of poisoning could result
(though I doubt it would be serious, let alone fatal).

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

As I said earlier 'bloomin 'eck! I am off to Auchan G