Amanita muscaria: Difference between revisions

'''Amanita muscaria (also known as the ''fly agaric'' Figure 1) is a psychoactive mushroom that grows widely in the northern hemisphere. The mushroom is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom that is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture 🍄.''' The mushroom is arguably<ref>Soma and "Amanita muscaria" Author(s): John Brough Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 34, No. 2 (1971), pp. 331-362 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies Stable URL: <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/612695</nowiki></ref> the ''[[Soma]]-plant'' in Vedic religion<ref name=":0">Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality by R. Gordon Wasson by Sungazer Press (first published January 1st 1968)</ref> as it is noted for its Lilliputian ('''Figure 3''') hallucinatory properties, which derive from its primary psychoactive constituents ibotenic acid and muscimol<ref>Hallucinogenic Species in Amanita Muscaria. Determination of Muscimol and Ibotenic Acid by Ion Interaction HPLC M. C. Gennaro a , D. Giacosa a , E. Gioannini a & S. Angelino a a Università di Torino Dipartimento di Chimica Analitica Via P. Giuria , 5 10125, Torino, Italy Published online: 23 Sep 2006.</ref>.

Although the fresh mushroom is classified as poisonous<ref>Michelot, D., & Melendez-Howell, L. M. (2003). ''Amanita muscaria: chemistry, biology, toxicology, and ethnomycology. Mycological Research, 107(2), 131–146.'' doi:10.1017/s0953756203007305 </ref>, reports of human deaths resulting from its ingestion are extremely rare<ref>Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) poisoning, case report and review Leszek Satora*, Dorota Pach, Beata Butryn, Piotr Hydzik, Barbara Balicka-S´lusarczyk Department of Clinical Toxicology, Poison Information Center, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Os. Złotej Jesieni 1, 31-826 Krako´w, Poland Received 12 November 2004; accepted 10 January 2005 Available online 14 April 2005</ref>. Furthermore, there are a multitude of recorded cases of low dose ingestion without issue<ref>Buck, R. W. (1963). ''Toxicity of Amanita muscaria. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 185(8), 663.'' doi:10.1001/jama.1963.03060080059020 </ref>. The key to its safety is differentiation from the Destroying Angel and the Death Cap, parboiling—which weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances and careful dosage<ref>Neuropharmacological Investigations on Muscimol,

One of the major dangers of amanita muscaria is misidentifying it as a different species of mushroom. Several other mushrooms in the genus amanita are toxic and cause 90% of all fatal mushroom poisonings see '''figure 2'''. One such mushroom, the amanita phalloides, better known as the death cap, contains α-amanitin and β-Amanitin, both of which are extremely potent RNA polymerase II and RNA polymerase III inhibitors which damage virtually every tissue in the body. As the name suggests, the amanita muscaria contains the chemical muscarine, a muscarinic acetylcholine agonist which is known to cause seizures; however, the mushroom contains very low amounts that are highly unlikely to pose any significant harm.

The active ingredients of the Amanita muscaria are ibotenic acid, muscimol, and muscarine the highest concentration of which is in the yellow tissue of the cap immediately below the skin<ref>United Nations, Amanita muscaria : present understanding of its chemistry Accessed on 18th Jun 2022 via<nowiki/>https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1970-01-01_4_page005.html</ref>. The first two ingredients act on the nervous system as GABAA agonists within thirty minutes to two hours after ingestion, causing dizziness, lack of coordination, delirium, spasms, and muscular cramps. These symptoms are temporary and subside within four to twenty-four hours. There is some evidence to suggest that the reported lilliputian [[hallucinations]] (see '''Figure 3''') mimic Z-drug side effects<ref>Tsai MJ, Huang YB, Wu PC. A novel clinical pattern of visual hallucination after zolpidem use. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2003;41:869–72.</ref><ref>Coleman DE, Ota K. Hallucinations with zolpidem and fluoxetine in an impaired driver. J Forensic Sci. 2004;49:392–3.</ref><ref>Kito S, Koga Y. Visual hallucinations and amnesia associated with zolpidem triggered by fluvoxamine: A possible interaction. Int Psychogeriatr. 2006;18:749–51.</ref><ref>Elko CJ, Burgess JL, Robertson WO. Zolpidem-associated hallucinations and serotonin reuptake inhibition: A possible interaction. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1998;36:195–203.</ref><ref>'''Zolpidem-induced Hallucinations''': A Brief Case Report from the Indian Subcontinent. Gurvinder Pal Singh and Neeraj Loona. Indian J Psychol Med. 2013 Apr-Jun; 35(2): 212–213. doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.116260</ref>.