Amatoxin and phallotoxin concentrations in Amanita fuliginea: Influence of tissues, developmental stages and collection sites

Abstract

Amanita fuliginea is a well-known lethal poisonous mushroom that was originally described in Japan and is responsible for most of the fatal mushroom poisoning incidents in southern China. In this study, the concentrations of amatoxins and phallotoxins in A. fuliginea from different tissues, developmental stages and collection sites were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). High quantities of total toxins were detected in the gills, pileus and stipe, whereas relatively small quantities of total toxins were observed in the annulus and volva, and minimal quantities of toxins were detected in the spores. There were higher quantities of amatoxins than phallotoxins in all of the tissues, and the phallotoxins/amatoxins (P/A) ratios were higher in the annulus, volva and spores than in the pileus, gills and stipe. Further analysis of the toxins at different developmental stages revealed that the amatoxin and phallotoxin contents were relatively high and constant during early development, reached a maximum when the fruiting body was in the vigorous growth stage and later decreased during the mature stage. The collection sites had a significant effect on the amounts of total toxins but minor effect on the P/A ratios.