EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Mushroom poisoning, termed mycetism or mycetismus, most commonly ensues after mushrooms are foraged, misidentified and then consumed [1, 7, 9–20]. The incidence of ingesting wild, toxic mushrooms is increasingly reported [8, 21, 22]. Worldwide, hundreds of mushroom poisonings are fatal each year [6, 8, 23, 24].

Detailed explanation-2: -mushroom poisoning, also called toadstool poisoning, toxic, sometimes fatal, effect of eating poisonous mushrooms (toadstools). There are some 70 to 80 species of mushrooms that are poisonous to humans; many of them contain toxic alkaloids (muscarine, agaricine, phalline).

Detailed explanation-3: -The most infamous of mushroom poisons are the amatoxins (amanitins), most commonly derived from species of Amanita, their common names originating in the problems produced by their ingestion [11], e.g. Amanita virosa ‘the destroying angel’ and Amanita phalloides ‘death cap’ [1].

Detailed explanation-4: -Mycetismus: It is the toxicosis resulting from the ingestion of poisonous mushrooms. Following are the examples. 1. Mycetismus gastrointestinalis: Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Detailed explanation-5: -Mycetismus or mushroom poisoning is defined in Anisworth and Brisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi as distress resulting from the consumption of a fungal organism. This is in contrast to mycotoxicosis where the fungus, usually a hyphomycete, acts on some foodstuff of humans or animals and alters it.