daved said:
I came across a clump of what I am pretty sure are Shaggy Parasol Mushrooms. I was looking them up in a mushroom book and it said that although they have a good flavour, some people are alergic to them but didn't give any more details.
Does anybody know how this alergy manifests itself? Has anyone actually experienced it and how rare/common is it?
Dave
I'm no expert, but I think that you have to be careful wiht most of the coprinus mushrooms.
The shaggy cap (coprinus comatus) is generally considered safe, though the spores have been reported as causing allergic reactions (dermatitis) in some people.
Other species, such as the ink cap (coprinus atramentarius) contain varying amounts of coprine, a molecule similar to disulfiram. Coprine is not destroyed by cooking the ink cap.
The problem would be if you confuse a harmless coprinus with one rich in coprine, and consume alcohol at the same time.
Below is my summary from information found
here.
Your body metabolizes coprine from the ink cap to produce 1-aminocyclopropanol, which in turn inhibits production of the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzyme.
When you consume alcohol, you body metobolizes the ethanol into acetaldehyde, which is poisonous. Then, your body metabolizes the acetaldehyde into acetic aceid using this ALDH.
If the ALDH is not present in sufficient quantity, the acetaldehyde accumulates, making you ill.
Keith.
