Marin Brewer, William Terrell Distinguished Professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ plant pathology department, recently spoke with NPR about an antidote to the “death cap” mushroom and other poisonous fungi.
“There’s a really small percent that are tasty gourmet edibles, and then a really small percent that are poisonous,” she said.
Until now, effective treatments for death cap poisonings were few and far between with no proven antidote available. But new research from Chinese and Australian scientists indicates that a drug already approved by the FDA might also be an antidote for death cap poisonings.
Poisonous mushrooms aren’t everywhere. Death cap mushrooms, for example, are native in Europe, invasive in certain parts of North America and completely absent in other places.
Brewer suggests caution when foraging, just to be safe.
“Go out with people who are experts or find a local mushroom club. And if you’re ever in any doubt, throw it out. Don’t ever risk it,” she said.
