What makes mushrooms harmful?

Answer 1

Good question. Fungi contain a wide variety of toxins, some of them deadly to humans. Of all the mushrooms, some of the Amanitas, for example the Death Cap ( Amanita phalloides) are the most poisonous. Ingestion of a single cap can cause fatal liver damage in days. Others, while not lethal, can cause a wide range of very unpleasant symptoms from stomach cramps and nausea to hallucinations. By no means all are harmful and some are very tasty but unless you are knowledgable in the art and science of mushroom hunting, leave them alone.

Answer 2

Many mushrooms, like many plants, have chemical compounds in them that can have harmful effects on things that eat them. The ones you see in stores are the ones that people have grown specifically for eating and are known to be harmless. Not all mushrooms are dangerous, but it can be difficult to tell some harmless kinds from dangerous kinds - better to avoid eating wild mushrooms unless you know them well, and are very confident that they are a harmless variety. Even then, be careful, since even experienced mushroom hunters have occasionally been fooled. Me, I stick to the ones from the store...

Answer 3

Depends on the mushroom, there are many types, below are just a couple.

Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria) - has atropine like compounds, that cause narcosis, convulsions, hallucinations. It also has muscarine (diarrhea, slow pulse).

Amanita Phalloides (Destroying Angel) has a heat stable polypeptide that generally destroys cells, including heart, liver, and kidney. The mushroom Galerina has similiar properties. No known antidote, the peptide firmly binds to cells.

Answer 4

The poisonous mushrooms contain "alpha-amanitin". This inhibits the synthesis of mRNA in the cell by binding to the RNA polymerase.

Answer 5

Accelerating them to supersonic speeds. Or putting spikes on them. You could soak them in gas and light them on fire. Or you could do all three! That's harmful!