2010 NAMA Toxicology Report

Summary from McIlvainea Volume 21, online at www.namyco.org
By Michael Beug, Toxicology Chair

During 2010, 76 incidents of mushroom poisoning involving 93 people were reported through
the NAMA website and/or through our nationwide team of toxicology identifiers. One
previously ill elderly person’s death was hastened by having consumed Amanita phalloides. Six
other individuals survived poisoning by potentially deadly Amanita species (two cases involved
Amanita phalloides, two cases involved Amanita ocreata and one case involved Amanita
bisporigera or a look-alike). One possible amatoxin case involved a Psilocybe seeker who
apparently consumed Galerina by mistake and may have suffered some liver damage. Another
amatoxin case involved a small Lepiota species that looked a lot like L. rubrotincta. This case
plus the reported death of a dog from Lepiota subincarnata (syn. Lepiota josserandii) should
remind people once again not to eat small species in the genus Lepiota.
Of the 84 people not involved in confirmed or suspected amatoxin cases, 58 consumed
known poisonous mushrooms or mushrooms where the identification was unknown and 26
consumed or mushrooms that are edible to most people. The most serious of the non-amatoxin
cases involved a woman who consumed an Amanita smithiana, after having been told that it
was Matsutake. She suffered kidney problems but was successfully treated and did not require
dialysis.

Consumption of raw mushrooms was the downfall of several people. Two consumed
Morels raw, one consumed a raw Leccinum, another a raw Russula and one person ate a raw
Pleurotus. Nearly all of the Chlorophyllum cases involved munching raw mushrooms. Even
consuming raw Chlorophyllum rachodes or C. brunneum is likely to cause distress.
Chlorophyllum molybdites poisoning is much worse if they are eaten raw – even though C.
molybdites makes most people ill even if cooked. All mushrooms, even the sliced ones you see
on salad bars, should be cooked before consumption. Mushroom cell walls are made of chitin
which we cannot digest well without the aid of cooking. Many mushrooms also contain
compounds that damage red blood cells (hemolysins) unless denatured by cooking. Because
freezing only slows down but does not stop bacterial decay, mushrooms should be cooked prior
to preserving in the freezer.

One person began to feel ill from drying Matsutake – it is important the mushroom
dryers be operated in well ventilated areas because the spores given off in the process can
cause problems for some people. There was also the first formal report I have received of
someone having GI distress after eating Matsutake. For every edible mushroom, there appears
to be some people who are sensitive and will get an upset stomach from eating it. Severe
anaphylactic shock is rare, but there appears to be a case this past year involving Laetiporus
sulphureus where the reaction was very severe. Several years ago there had been a death from
shock after consumption of Laetiporus conifericola.

Consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms can present serious problems when the
altered state produces violent behavior and the police are called. A young man had taken
hallucinogenic mushrooms and then sat down to watch “Alice in Wonderland.” When pepper
spray and control holds failed on the out-of-control subject, police repeatedly used a Taser.
Even then it took seven Taser shots before the person collapsed and quit breathing. The young
man died, with the death attributed to Psilocybe mushrooms even though Tasers have caused
numerous deaths, unlike Psilocybe mushrooms which do not cause fatalities.

A tragic outcome in 2006 was presented in a poster session at the North American
Congress of Clinical Toxicologists conference in Denver, October 10/7/2010 (French LK, Burton
BT, “Liberty and Death,” Oregon Poison Center, Portland, OR, USA):
A healthy 20-year-old-male reportedly ingested as much as 4 g of
hallucinogenic mushrooms one evening (typical single ingestion is 1/8 g)
prior to entering a sleeping woman’s apartment. Upon awakening she
demanded he leave and a struggle ensued. Police were summoned to the
home but the man became increasingly violent and failed to comply with
their commands. He did not submit to multiple Taser discharges. Instead,
he managed to pull out or break the wires and continue to struggle and
attempted to grab the officer’s pistol. After fleeing outdoors, additional
attempts to subdue the man included nine beanbag rounds and additional
Taser applications, all without effect. After attempted entry into a police
vehicle containing a loaded rifle, the man was shot and killed.

In another case a very young man suffered long-term depression and 3 months memory
loss after consuming what was almost undoubtedly Amanita pantherina. He also became
violent and exhibited strength beyond his years.

One frequent user of hallucinogenic mushrooms contacted Marilyn Shaw about loss of
muscular control, inability to focus, balance, or stand followed by extreme fatigue lasting up to
three days. This has happened to him on several occasions after consuming Psilocybe
azurescens. He reported that other individuals had observed a similar effect from Psilocybe
cyanescens and other Psilocybe species that grow in association with wood chips and river
estuaries. Marilyn contacted both Paul Stamets and Dr. Andrew Weil and confirmed that there
appears to be a neurological problem associated with these wood-associated Psilocybe species.
A young man made a “medicinal” tea from the black knot fungus on cherry trees plus
some Daldinia concentrica when he had been unable to find any Chaga. He suffered gastric
distress for days. One of his ideas was that the GI distress was symptomatic of liver problems
and milk thistle would protect his liver. However, milk thistle extracts are not absorbed in the
GI tract (which is why injectable Silibinin is used the experimental protocol to treat patients
who are suffering amatoxin poisoning from certain toxic Amanita, Lepiota, Galerina and
Conocybe species). Tim Geho pointed out to him that at some doses Chaga has caused muscle
paralysis and that he should be careful.

In addition to the reports involving humans, there were reports from 13 dog owners
about dogs ill after the dogs ate mushrooms or were suspected of having eaten mushrooms.
Four of the cases involved the death of the dog. Three of the dog deaths were due to amatoxins
and in one case the mushroom involved was uncertain and death was so rapid that it might not
have been a mushroom at all. There was also an inquiry from the owner of a goat herd
wondering if several deaths in her herd might be attributed to mushrooms. However, the
symptoms fit neither known mushroom toxins nor known toxic weeds. The only mushrooms
the owner reported in her field were lots of puffballs.