Scientific Guide to Eating: Eating these green lilies will either cause you to "see villains" or...

Tuchong Creative

Recently, there are many legends about the Jianshouqing mushroom circulating on the Internet. Many netizens who ate uncooked Jianshouqing described that they saw busy little people everywhere. There were countless little people on the table, on the wall, and even on the tree, just like the Lilliput country described in the fairy tale. What kind of mushroom is Jianshouqing? Why does it cause hallucinations? What harm will it cause to our body?

Jianshouqing is not a type of mushroom but a general name for a class of mushrooms, including Lanmao Boletus, Rose Yellow Boletus, Tea Brown Boletus, Gorgeous Boletus, Ochre Cap Boletus, Yellow Hole Boletus, Red Hole Boletus, etc. Sometimes it is mixed with thin flesh boletus and poisonous boletus, etc. Because the wound color of these mushrooms will turn green after being injured, they are named Jianshouqing.

Although the Chinese have a long history of eating porcini mushrooms, and there are records about porcini mushrooms in the "Yunnan Materia Medica" written in the Ming Dynasty, our understanding of the porcini family is still far from enough. In a 2016 study, researchers discovered that the two famous green onions in Yunnan, red onions and white onions, are actually two new species. They are Lanmao Boletus and Rose Yellow Yellow Boletus, not the previously believed bicolor Boletus and small American Boletus. It can be said that it is a typical case of not knowing what is going on.

The green onion tastes good, but everyone knows that improper handling can cause poisoning. The poisoning caused by the green onion can be divided into two types: mental type and gastroenteritis type.

In a study conducted by the Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University and the Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it was found that the poisoning of Boletus edulis is mainly neuropsychiatric, with an incubation period of 12 to 24 hours. The main symptoms of poisoning are hallucinations, delirium, dizziness and mania. The researchers also found that the blood routine, liver function, kidney function, myocardial enzymes, coagulation function and other indicators of patients with Boletus edulis poisoning were not significantly abnormal, and there were no deaths caused by Boletus edulis poisoning, which is fortunately.

However, some fungi are much more toxic, such as the poisonous new boletus, which can cause gastroenteritis-type poisoning. Its toxicity can probably be felt from its scientific name. The poisonous new boletus can cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort and dehydration, and can even be life-threatening.

Therefore, don’t ever think that experiencing the “poisoning” of the green-handed amaranth is a fun thing.

Why do mushrooms cause hallucinations? So far, we have not been able to fully determine what the hallucinogenic substance in the genus Viagra is, and relevant research is still ongoing. However, research on other hallucinogenic mushrooms has been quite sufficient.

In 1938, a Swedish scientist, Albert Hofmann, extracted an ingredient from ergot fungus, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Dramatically, Albert Hofmann's knowledge of the effects of this substance came from an irregular operation. Hofmann accidentally took a small amount of LSD during the experiment. Then his mind became uncontrollable like a galloping wild horse, and the color of the world changed. After a long time, this symptom gradually disappeared. Curious Hofmann must find the real reason, so he took 250 micrograms of LSD. As a result, the expected hallucination came, the whole world seemed to be distorted by a funhouse mirror, and the objects in the room seemed to have turned into monsters. In the end, he felt that his soul seemed to be separated from his body and he was almost crazy. Fortunately, the amount he took was only a little lower than the lethal dose.

In addition to the toxins in boletus, in North America, there is a type of small mushroom called Psilocybin, which contains psilocybin, which can also cause hallucinations in consumers. In traditional Indian religious ceremonies, shamans will eat some Psilocybin mushrooms to produce hallucinations and complete divination rituals.

Summer is the time when wild mushrooms are concentrated. Traditional edible mushrooms such as red onions and white onions have many loyal fans. The reason why these mushrooms are attractive is that they taste and taste like tender beef liver. This is because these porcini contain a large amount of flavor nucleotides, and the greasy feeling brought by fungal polysaccharides makes diners unable to stop. During the heating process, the toxins in them can be effectively destroyed, and then they can be eaten safely.

However, please note that there are many poisonous species in the Boletus family. In 2011, Li Shuhong, a researcher at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that among the 310 commercial Boletus collected in the Yunnan market, there were 5 poisonous Boletus, including Green-capped Boletus, Round-flowered Boletus, Yellow-capped Boletus, Purple-capped Boletus and Microspore Boletus. The toxicity of these Boletus is divided into two categories: gastrointestinal toxicity and neurotoxicity. For example, Sticky-capped Boletus and Yellow-capped Boletus can cause strong intestinal reactions, while Fine-webbed Boletus can even cause hemolysis and liver damage. Boletus with gastrointestinal toxicity can not only cause nausea and vomiting, but can even cause gastric bleeding. If not treated in time, there is a risk of life.

The danger of mushrooms is not limited to this. Many poisonous mushrooms have a deceptive and malicious method to deceive people - false recovery period. Among them, the most typical one is the deadly Amanita. Six hours after eating this mushroom, the eater will experience severe reactions such as nausea and vomiting, and then the symptoms will gradually ease. If you think you are safe, you are wrong. At this time, the transaminase in the eater's body has risen sharply, and the liver has been damaged. After 48 hours, the discomfort symptoms reappear. At this time, even if Hua Tuo is alive, there is nothing he can do. Therefore, if you experience discomfort after eating wild mushrooms, you must take the sample to the hospital for professional help as soon as possible.

In a wider range, there is also a mushroom called ICU mushroom - the large green parasol mushroom. This mushroom is particularly easy to be confused with edible fungi such as chicken fir and coprinus comatus in appearance, and its distribution area is extremely wide. The mushroom itself has no special smell, so it is often picked and eaten by mistake. Symptoms of poisoning include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

For ordinary consumers, the best practice is not to eat wild mushrooms at will, especially those from unfamiliar areas; in addition, for wild mushrooms such as the jianshouqing, you must pay attention to the way of eating to avoid poisoning. In fact, today you can buy a variety of artificially cultivated mushrooms in the vegetable market. Through proper matching and cooking, you can get a taste and flavor that is not inferior to wild mushrooms. This is the safest way to taste mushrooms.

This article is a work supported by the Science Popularization China Creation Cultivation Program

Author: Shi Jun

Reviewer: Li Haijiao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.