![\"Death](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/288243de4dddbec8c9b9e92d21717fb4d16d2900\/0_0_1000_572\/master\/1000.jpg?width=465&quality=85&dpr=1&s=none\")
<\/p>\nChinese and Australian researchers have identified that a dye used in medical imaging can block the toxic effects<\/p>\n
Scientists believe they have found a potential antidote for a potent toxin found in the world\u2019s most poisonous mushroom, the death cap.\u00a0The death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is responsible for about 90% of mushroom-related deaths globally.\u00a0Its principal toxin is a peptide called \u03b1-Amanitin, a type of amatoxin which results in liver and kidney failure.<\/p>\n
Chinese and Australian researchers have identified that indocyanine green, a dye currently approved in the US for use in medical imaging, appears to block the toxic effects of \u03b1-Amanitin.\u00a0The study\u2019s corresponding author, Prof Qiaoping Wang of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, said that previously no specific antidote existed for death caps \u201cbecause we know little about how mushroom toxins kill cells\u201d.<\/p>\n
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In tests in mice as well as human cell lines in the lab, the scientists found that indocyanine green was able to prevent liver and kidney damage that was induced by \u03b1-Amanitin. It also improved the probability of survival after poisoning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the results are promising, further clinical experiments are needed to determine whether indocyanine green has similar effects in humans,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n
A fungi expert and the chief scientist at Sydney\u2019s Royal Botanic Gardens, Prof Brett Summerell, who was not involved in the research, said death cap mushrooms were \u201cextraordinarily dangerous and toxic\u201d and were often mistaken for other mushrooms because of superficial similarities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe death cap can in the early growth stages resemble some of the straw mushrooms, which are \u2026 popular, particularly in a range of Asian cuisines,\u201d Summerell said.\u00a0\u201cIn those early stages it can be quite difficult to differentiate the mushrooms,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a white creamy colour. As they get a bit older you can start to get a greeny-yellow tinge to them in the death caps.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath caps have an association with the roots of oak tree, so if you see something that\u2019s under an oak tree, that\u2019s really when you need to be careful and suspicious.\u201d\u00a0While the toxins found in some other mushrooms can be degraded by heat, death cap toxins are \u201crobust throughout cooking\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cMushroom poisoning is the main cause of mortality in food poisoning incidents worldwide,\u201d the study\u2019s authors note.<\/p>\n
\u0391lpha-Amanitin exerts its toxic effects on cells by inhibiting specific enzymes required for protein production. To work, the toxin relies on a protein in the body called STT3B. Indocyanine green appears to work by inhibiting the function of STT3B.<\/p>\n
The researchers found beneficial effects in mice treated with indocyanine green four hours after poisoning with \u03b1-Amanitin, but not in mice treated only eight or 12 hours after they were exposed to the toxin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis may be because [\u03b1-Amanitin] has caused irreversible damage \u2026 which is unable to be salvaged,\u201d the researchers concluded. \u201cThis suggests that [indocyanine green] should be given as early as possible during treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n