Poisoning by Coprinus atramentarius

Abstract

The ink cap--Coprinus atramentarius (Bulliard ex Fries) Fries--is responsible for poisoning when ingested with alcohol. The investigation of the "Coprinus syndrome," although a minor poisoning incident, stimulated numerous research programs because the results were expected to yield a novel drug useful during the treatment of alcoholism. This work led to the identification of the active principle--coprine--and to an explanation of its mode of action; nevertheless, detailed toxicology investigations have shown that the mutagenic and gonadotoxic properties of this compound made it unsuitable for therapeutic use. Our current knowledge of the poisoning, the chemistry of the toxin, and its mode of action are here reviewed.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Inhibitors: a Comprehensive Review of the Pharmacology, Mechanism of Action, Substrate Specificity, and Clinical Application

“…Unlike disulfiram (see below), it does not inhibit dopamine ␤-hydroxylase (Carlsson et al, 1978;Tottmar and Hellstrom, 1979). Despite its potency at inhibiting ALDH activity, mutagenic and gonadotoxic side effects prevented further pursuit of this compound as a candidate for drug development (Michelot, 1992).…”

Mycetism: A Review of the Recent Literature

“…Treatment is supportive including fluid and electrolyte replacement. Symptoms generally resolve within 6 h of ethanol consumption but may recur with repeat ethanol consumption [29,30,32,81,82].…”

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“…Another mode of ALDH inhibition was discovered for β-escin, also named aescin, a triterpene saponin isolated from Aesculus hippocastanum L. (Sapindaceae), which does not directly inhibit ALDH1 activity, but rather inhibits its expression in lung tumor cells in a mouse model [33]. With the exception of coprine, which exhibits mutagenic and gonadotoxic effects, thus preventing further development, it would be valuable to test these natural compounds in MM-CSCs and other CSCs [34,35].…”