Mushroom poisoning (also known as
mycetism or
mycetismus) refers to harmful effects from ingestion of
toxic substances present in a
mushroom. These symptoms can vary from slight
gastrointestinal discomfort to
death. The
toxins present are
secondary metabolites produced in specific
biochemical pathways in the
fungal cells. Mushroom
poisoning is usually the result of
ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species. The most common reason for this misidentification is close resemblance in terms of colour and general
morphology of the toxic mushrooms species with edible species.