Why are some mushrooms poisonous and some not?

You can easily see mushrooms growing in your yard or in the park after a rain, but they usually don't last long. Fungi mainly exist as filamentous structures underground or in materials such as wood. To reproduce, the fungus must come to the surface.

Candlestick fungus Xylaria hypoxylon is releasing spores.

Fungi grow when the environment is at the right temperature and there is enough water. They usually consist of a cap and a stalk. On the underside of the cap, the fungus produces spores, like the seeds of a plant, to produce new mushrooms.

If you look under different types of mushroom caps, you will notice that they are not the same. Some mushrooms look like a sheet of pleated paper. Some have pores that look like sponges. And some have tooth-like structures. All of these surfaces produce spores.

To create a new generation of fungi, the spores need to travel to new areas, and there are many ways in which fungi can do this.

Image of the ghost mushroom Omphalotus nidiformis at night on a road in Australia.

For some species of fungi, the spores simply fall off the cap and are carried by the air to a new home. While other fungi attract insects by glowing at night. The light from mushrooms in the forest at night can be very strong. Insects will be attracted to the light, accidentally picking up fungal spores when exploring the light and carrying them elsewhere when moving.

Some fungi never form structures above ground. Instead, the mushrooms lie underground and are eaten by squirrels and rats; These animals will spread the spores by spreading them around and through feces.

Since fungi are short-lived, it is important that they spread spores quickly. Mushrooms are quite attractive food for snails, some insects, beetles, chipmunks, squirrels, deer and even humans. If an animal eats mushrooms, the fungal spores are usually lost, unless they are encased in a protective layer to reach elsewhere in the feces.

Scientists have found evidence that insects and snails avoid fungi that contain toxins. Some poisonous mushrooms make those who eat it sick and then stay away from it, but some poisonous mushrooms can be fatal.

There are many different mycotoxins. A type of very beautiful mushroom called amanitas, also known as "angel of destruction" because they are both pretty and deadly. Amanitas are often confused with edible mushrooms and each year they cause a number of deaths around the world.

Scientists have also exploited some of the fungi's toxins in medicine. For example, the toxin of the ergot mushroom has been developed into a drug used to prevent migraines.

About 1-2% of mushrooms contain toxic substances to humans. The common term for such a fungus is "toadstool," but there's no easy way to distinguish a poisonous mushroom from an edible one. Therefore, do not eat a strange mushroom you find, as it is difficult to determine if they are poisonous or not.

Note when processing mushrooms

Professor, Dr. Trinh Tam Kiet, President of the Vietnam Association of Mycology, said that in the way mushrooms are processed, they can also cause poisoning if they are not cooked carefully or the utensils used for cooking and storing cooked foods are contaminated with raw mushrooms. Ingestion can also cause poisoning.

Some types of mushrooms are inherently non-toxic, but if they grow in a contaminated area or the soil below has toxic minerals such as phosphorus, if ingested, it can also cause poisoning.

When processing wild mushrooms, just like normal mushrooms, the best method is to boil them before frying to reduce toxicity.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Chinh, former Vice Dean of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Natural Sciences, Hanoi National University, said mushroom poisoning only occurs when eating wild mushrooms that have not yet been grown. Any serious poisoning incident occurred due to eating cultivated mushrooms, properly harvested.

The common feature of poisonous mushrooms is that they do not have a special smell, even fragrant, naturally sweet. However, inside it is an extremely toxic active ingredient, but there are species, just 2 mushrooms can take a human life.

Absolutely do not eat unripe mushrooms, or put cooked mushrooms in containers containing raw mushrooms because they may be contaminated with toxins in raw mushrooms, causing poisoning.

In particular, when eating mushrooms should not drink alcohol. There are some types of wild mushrooms that are not poisonous but contain ingredients that cause chemical reactions with ingredients in alcohol, thus causing poisoning.