The Chemistry of Poisonous Mushrooms

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© Compound Interest

The Chemistry of Poisonous Mushrooms

There’s a reason that it’s strongly recommended not to pick wild mushrooms unless you’ve had training in recognising the different types; some mushrooms containing deadly toxins can look almost identical to those that are perfectly safe to eat. Of the various types of mushroom toxins, those which cause the greatest number of deaths are the amatoxins and orellanine.

The sinisterly named ‘Death Cap’ and ‘Destroying Angel’ mushrooms both contain amatoxins. The amatoxins are a family of structurally similar compounds, with minor changes in parts of the structure determining the different types, of which ten are currently known. The main amatoxins commonly found in significant quantities are α-amanitin, β-amanitin and γ-amanitin, all three of which have a median lethal dose of around 0.5-0.75 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.