There Are Thousands of Different Mushrooms – Some Could Kill You [Video]

There are tens of thousands of mushroom species out there, and some of them could kill you. In this video, we’re going to test how well you can separate the perfectly safe from the perilously poisonous, and we’ll dive into the chemistry behind what makes seemingly identical species so different.

One of these mushrooms will make you hallucinate, one could kill you, and one would be great in a stir fry. Can you guess which is which?

Not that easy, right?

Unfortunately, mushrooms usually aren’t brightly colored like some other poisonous animals or plants, which means it takes some serious skill to be able to tell the difference between mushroom species.

SO PLEASE DO NOT EAT RANDOM MUSHROOMS BECAUSE YOU WATCHED A YOUTUBE VIDEO.

Alright. Time to test if you can tell the difference between perfectly safe and perilously poisonous. Oh, and let us know how you do in the comments.

First up: Which one of these would you eat? A or B?

Mushroom B, is known as the Death Cap.

Very few people die from mushroom poisoning each year, but when they do, the Death Cap is usually the culprit. Just one mushroom could be enough to kill you.

Death caps contain two molecules that bind to the enzyme RNA polymerase II. RNA polymerase II normally transcribes DNA to RNA, which is the first step in making proteins. With RNA polymerase II blocked, your cells stop making proteins and start to die. Vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps will usually start about 6 hours after eating the mushroom, depending on the dose.

After getting through that, you might start to feel better, but then your liver and other organs can start to shut down, and you could die.

Species A, on the other hand, is totally edible.

Which of these would you eat? A, B, or C?

Mushroom A is edible, as long as it’s cooked.

Mushroom B can be toxic thanks to a compound called gyromitrin.

In your body, gyromitrin is ultimately converted into a molecule called MMH. MMH prevents gamma-aminobutyric acid (or GABA) from being created in your central nervous system. GABA helps regulate your muscle movement by decreasing signaling between your neurons. If you have less GABA in your system your neurons will start signaling more, which can cause deadly seizures.

Luckily, death by gyromitra mushroom is extremely rare. Weirdly, some people can actually eat these guys raw and not get sick. Scientists are still trying to figure this one out.

Mushroom C—hold on can we see that last one again—I promise these are actually different.

Ok so if you chose C you’re probably fine—these mushrooms are generally considered edible, and in some parts of the world, they’re sold in stores like any other edible mushroom. But they can cause an upset stomach and a lack of coordination.

Why?

We don’t really know; the chemistry isn’t clear yet. So we’ll call this the wildcard mushroom.

Next!

Which would you eat? A or B?

If you chose A [Coprinus comatus], nice work. This is the shaggy ink cap or shaggymane, and it’s edible.

If you chose B——you may be in trouble. It contains coprine, which isn’t an issue unless you’re washing it down with alcohol.

Say you’re drinking a beer—the ethanol is broken down into a toxic molecule called acitaldehyde, which is then converted to nontoxic acetate, and finally into carbon dioxide and water, which you exhale and pee out. Coprine blocks the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase so acitaldehyde starts to accumulate, and that can poison your liver.

Within 15 minutes of drinking, your heart will quickly start to race and beat irregularly, you’ll feel warm and begin to flush, and your arms and legs will feel heavy and might begin tingling. And the crazy thing is that if you drink alcohol within even a few days of eating the mushroom it can still affect you.

Ok, last one! How about this cute mushroom?

You probably recognize this mushroom from Mario. Yep, It’s that mushroom.

So is it edible? Toxic? Or hallucinogenic?

This guy is: Toxic and hallucinogenic. That was kinda a trick question.

Within a couple hours of eating this mushroom, you’ll probably start to feel dizzy, tired, and begin to lose your sense of time as you start getting feelings of euphoria, seeing brighter colors, and hearing distorted sounds.

What’s causing all this?

Mostly Ibotenic acid and muscimol. Muscimol is better understood. It’s principally responsible for the “trip.”

Ibotenic acid is also considered a hallucinogen, but it’s toxic as well. It has been shown to cause brain lesions in mice, rats, and monkeys. Muscimol and ibotenic acid structures and activity are really similar to a couple neurotransmitters circulating in your system—one that gets your neurons firing, and another that slows them down.

But—unlike those neurotransmitters—muscimol and ibotenic acid can move into your brain, and throw its chemistry for a loop. Some people who want to eat the mushroom and NOT trip out will boil it to try and get rid of muscimol and ibotenic acid. But, there’s no guarantee that will work.

So at the end of the day it turns out that fungi are incredible chemists, and some of them have kinda a sick sense of humor.

So if it isn’t already clear, don’t just eat mushrooms you find in the woods. Leave that to the experts and enjoy your stir fry sans vomiting or totally tripping out.

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