A woman pulled a "string" along the way after eating mushrooms. She said that if you eat mushrooms, you will eat the soul of the mushrooms. You can't eat mushrooms randomly!

Recently, we often see news about people who have hallucinations and are poisoned by eating mushrooms on various platforms. "Some people laugh for no apparent reason, some people have hallucinations and keep pulling strings, and some people say they see elves..." These are all caused by poisonous mushrooms.

▲Picture: A short video platform

Now that the rainy season has arrived, edible mushrooms have become a popular dish on the table due to their nutritional and delicious characteristics. However, cases of food poisoning caused by eating "mushrooms" are not uncommon, and they occur every year, especially from June to October every year, which is the peak period for poisonous mushroom poisoning.

Eat mushrooms, eat mushrooms soul, and only by eating mushrooms safely can you be the best!

Although edible fungi are delicious, how can we satisfy our taste buds while ensuring safety? Which mushrooms are safe to eat?

This article is about poisonous mushrooms. There is one type of mushroom that you should be extra careful with, and another type of mushroom that you need to prepare properly before eating!

1. This mushroom has a high poisoning rate and mortality rate

Among all poisonous mushroom poisonings, Amanita phalloides is the most common cause of poisoning. About 70% of the deaths from poisonous mushroom poisoning in my country are caused by Amanita phalloides, especially in southern China. Among Amanita phalloides poisoning, Amanita phalloides and Amanita phalloides are the most common.

This type of mushroom mainly contains toxic circular polypeptide ingredients, including amatoxin and phalloidin, and amatoxin includes amanita phalloidin.

Both can inhibit protein synthesis in the body, but amatoxin is the main toxic substance of cyclic polypeptides, and its toxicity is 10 to 20 times that of phalloidin. [1]

This type of mushroom poisoning can cause patients to develop symptoms of toxic hepatitis, with an incubation period of more than 6 hours and symptoms that usually develop within 8 to 12 hours. Early symptoms include gastroenteritis-like symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. After 1 to 2 days, there will be a "false recovery period" during which liver damage has actually occurred. After that, the patient will enter the visceral damage period, further affecting the health of the liver, brain, heart, and kidneys, with the liver being the most seriously affected. [2]

Without effective treatment, most patients will die within 7 days after acute liver failure. Those with mild poisoning will generally enter the recovery period after 2 to 3 weeks.

▲Figure: From reference [3] Journal of Mycology

2. Improper handling will lead to the emergence of "Lilliputian Country"

In real life, when we see "elves, Lilliputians" and other things after eating mushrooms, most of the time it is poisoning caused by improper handling of boletus mushrooms.

Speaking of porcini, I believe many people can’t get enough of it! The appearance of porcini is very similar to an enlarged version of “big mushrooms”. It belongs to a very large family. There are nearly 200 known species of porcini in my country [4]. Most of them are edible and non-toxic. However, you really need to be careful with some species of porcini. If they are not handled properly, they may cause poisoning symptoms after consumption.

For example, the small beautiful boletus mushroom that can make people have the "Lilliput Hallucination" is also called "seeing hand green" because its part will turn green or blue when touched by hand.

In July 2020, there was news that a woman in Yunnan was admitted to the hospital due to hallucinations after eating "Jianshouqing".

▲Picture: A short video platform

The hallucinogenic toxic substance in Boletus edulis comes from an alkaloid that is similar to lysergic acid diethylamide and can act on the central nervous system to cause hallucinations. [5]

Don’t think that seeing the “little man” is a very interesting thing. Some people will feel scared when they see the other side. After poisoning, it may cause gastrointestinal poisoning symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea at the mildest, and even life-threatening in severe cases.

However, for those who like to eat Boletus edulis, they don’t have to give it up. As long as it is thoroughly cooked, they can enjoy the delicious taste.

If you are really worried, you can choose Boletus edulis, Bronze Boletus, and Yellow Boletus. These three types are common, non-toxic, and delicious boletus, and you can eat them with confidence.

The nutritional differences among the three are: yellow boletus has the highest protein and insoluble dietary fiber, copper boletus has the best zinc content, and delicious boletus has the richest B vitamins.

3. Which mushrooms are safe to eat?

Many people do not have a comprehensive understanding of mushrooms. When faced with a certain type of mushroom, they are often full of questions: "What kind of mushroom is this? Can it be eaten? Is it poisonous?" This is especially true for people born in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, who are even less aware of it!

If you don’t have the ability to tell whether mushrooms are poisonous, just choose non-toxic mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms, hazel mushrooms, matsutake, oyster mushrooms, black fungus, white fungus, king oyster mushroom, chicken mushroom, enoki mushroom, tea tree mushroom, hericium erinaceus, seafood mushrooms, etc.

Among them, shiitake mushrooms are a "star side dish" rich in dietary fiber. Every 100g of fresh shiitake mushrooms contains 3.3g of dietary fiber, which is 1.3 times the amount of water-soaked black fungus! Adequate dietary fiber is beneficial to promote gastrointestinal motility, prevent intestinal diseases, and is beneficial to intestinal health.

▲Photo: Fresh shiitake mushrooms

The sulfur compounds in dried shiitake mushrooms are 2.3 times that of fresh shiitake mushrooms,[6] so whether used in cooking or making soup, the flavor will be stronger.

▲Photo: Dried shiitake mushrooms

Matsutake is the delicious "king of fungi" and is rich in the minerals selenium and potassium. It is more suitable for people who need to control blood pressure.

▲Photo: Matsutake

Hazel mushrooms are a representative of Northeast China's "mountain delicacies". The most popular dish, chicken stewed with mushrooms, uses hazel mushrooms. King Oyster Mushroom is a versatile ingredient that looks particularly "sturdy" and is super easy to cook.

▲Photo: King Oyster Mushroom

▲Photo: Hericium erinaceus

▲Picture: Alpinia hortensis

▲Photo: Agrocybe edulis

▲Photo: Oyster mushroom

▲Photo: Seafood mushroom

▲Photo: Enoki mushroom

Summary: "Don't eat mushrooms carelessly!" Toadstool poisoning is no joke, it can be fatal. Don't take risks when eating mushrooms. There are so many safe and non-toxic mushrooms, there should be enough for you to eat!

References:

[1] Li Linjing, Li Gaoyang, Xie Qiutao. Research progress on classification and identification of poisonous mushroom toxins[J]. Chinese Journal of Food Hygiene, 2013, 25(04): 383-387. DOI: 10.13590/j.cjfh.2013.04.010.

[2] Zhu Jiaying, Dong Yukang, Ren Yipin, Huang Jia, Yang Xiulin. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of poisonous mushroom poisoning in Guizhou Province (2020 Edition) (Part I) National Mobile Emergency Poisoning Incident Disposal Center (Guizhou) Emergency Medicine Branch of Guizhou Medical Association [J]. Guizhou Medicine, 2020, 44(09): 1369-1372.

[3] Tuligul, Bao Haiying, Li Yu. List of poisonous mushrooms in China[J]. Journal of Mycology, 2014, 33(03): 517-548. DOI: 10.13346/j.mycosystema.130256.

[4] Li Taihui, Song Bin. Species and distribution of edible boletus in China [J]. Journal of Edible Fungi, 2002(02):22-30.

[5] Ding Xiaowei, Liu Kaihui, Deng Baiwan, Chen Wenqiang. Research progress on poisonous boletus in China[J]. Journal of Anhui Agricultural Sciences, 2010, 38(03):1114-1115.

[6] An Jingjing, Wang Chengtao, Liu Guorong, Yang Xuelian, Zhang Xiaoxi, Li Jing. GC-MS analysis of volatile flavor components of fresh and dried shiitake mushrooms[J]. Food Industry Science and Technology, 2012, 33(14): 68-71.