Wild mushroom foraging involves a high risk of unintentional consumption of poisonous mushrooms which is a serious health concern. This problem arises due to the close morphological resemblances of toxic mushrooms with edible ones. The genus Inocybe comprises both edible and poisonous species and it is therefore important to differentiate them. Knowledge about their chemical nature will unambiguously determine their edibility and aid in an effective treatment in case of poisonings. In the present study, the presence of volatile toxic metabolites was verified in Inocybe virosa by gas chromatography. Methyl palmitate, phenol, 3,5-bis (1,1-dimethyl ethyl) and phytol were the identified compounds with suspected toxicity. The presence of the toxin muscarine was confirmed by liquid chromatography. The in vitro study showed that there was negligible effect of the digestion process on muscarine content or its toxicity. Therefore, the role of muscarine in the toxicity of Inocybe virosa was studied using a bioassay wherein metameters such as hypersalivation, immobility, excessive defecation, heart rate and micturition were measured. Administration of muscarine resulted in an earlier onset of symptoms and the extract showed a slightly stronger muscarinic effect in comparison to an equivalent dose of muscarine estimated in it. Further, the biological fate of muscarine was studied by pharmacokinetics and gamma scintigraphy in New Zealand white rabbits. Significant amount of the toxin was rapidly and effectively concentrated in the thorax and head region. This study closely explains the early muscarinic response such as miosis and salivation in mice. By the end of 24 h, a relatively major proportion of muscarine administered was accumulated in the liver which stands as an explanation to the hepatotoxicity of Inocybe virosa. This is one of the rare studies that has attempted to understand the toxic potential of muscarine which has previously been explored extensively for its pharmaceutical applications. Wild mushroom foraging involves a high risk of unintentional consumption of poisonous mushrooms which is a serious health concern. This problem arises due to the close morphological resemblance of toxic mushrooms with edible ones. The genus Inocybe also comprises both edible and poisonous species and it is therefore important to differentiate them. The species Inocybe virosa which is the focus of the present study is closely allied to Inocybe cutifracta which is an edible mushroom. The taxonomic classification of a mushroom species under the genus Inocybe, generally raises a suspicion about its edibility. This inevitable caution stems from the literature which abounds in cases of poisonings due to Inocybe mushrooms. Some of the poisonings reported have been associated with Inocybe fastigiata 1,2 , I. tristis 3 , I. anterospora 4 , I. aeruginascens 5 and I. patouillardii 6. Species such as I. asterospora, I. gobeyi, I. napipes, I. repanda, I. radiata, I. rimosa show psychotropic effects and classified as neurotoxic. Most of the I...
Background: Poisoning by different kinds of toxic mushrooms is unfortunately becoming an increasingly important medical problem, evident from the growing number of reports worldwide since the 1950s. Mycetism being a health concern, deserves scientific attention. In this perspective, the present study aims to assess the potential effects of ingesting the selected wild mushrooms from regions of the Western Ghats, India.Methods: The preliminary cytotoxicity of the selected mushrooms was studied in vitro on the intestinal NCM460 and the Chang's liver cell lines on the basis of cell viability. Further, the hepatotoxicity was assessed by measuring biologically relevant endpoints such as membrane integrity, mitochondrial stress and oxidative status. A 28 day sub-acute toxicity study was carried out by orally administering the mushroom extracts to mice at 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight. The hematological and serum analysis as well as histological examinations were carried out to evaluate their in vivo toxicity. GC-MS analysis of the mushrooms facilitated the identification of their volatile chemical profile.Result: The in vitro intestinal cytotoxicity exhibited by these wild mushrooms in comparison to the edible mushroom indicated their potential gastrointestinal toxicity. The pathological findings in small intestine on exposure to Chlorophyllum molybdites and Agaricus endoxanthus also validates the speculations about their intestinal toxicity. The toxic insult to the hepatocytes due to Amanita angustilamellata, Entoloma crassum, and Clarkeinda trachodes was predictive of the observed in vivo hepatotoxicity which was also accompanied by renal toxicity at the higher dose of 500 mg/kg bwt.Conclusion: The potential toxicity exhibited by these representative mushrooms from the wild warrants caution about their consumption. The present work could also have broader implications for global mycetism.
Despite an understanding that a major effect of cold exposure is a fall in core body temperature which is responsible for the observed decrements in the performance, it is surprising that thermogenic supplements are seldom evaluated to verify if they can aid in improving the performance during cold exposure. Following evidence from our previous study indicating the ability of pepper and cinnamon to improve cold endurance, we investigated further here if the improved endurance had advantages in real time where they could positively affect cognitive performance (assessed by Novel object test) when exposed to cold in albino wistar rats. In order to delineate if the observed improvement if any, was due to their cognitive enhancing ability or thermogenic potential, distinctive room temperature (RT) and cold temperature (CT) groups were used. Cold exposure impaired cognitive performance which improved following treatment with both the spices. We noted an increased rate of cold adaptive thermogenesis in CT treated group as evidenced by an elevated norepinephrine, free fatty acid levels in blood, increased expression of UCP1 in brown adipose tissue, the net effect being a decreased fall in the core body temperature. Absence of any notable effect in these parameters in the RT treated group ascertained that at least in the current experimental set up the observed improvement in performance in CT treated group is due to the thermogenic potential of the spices alone. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the cognitive impairment caused by exposure to cold can be effectively countered by agents with thermogenic potential.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.