Amatoxin and phallotoxin concentration in Amanita bisporigera spores

Abstract

Even though amatoxins and phallotoxins have been well characterized in basidiocarps of Amanita species, to our knowledge no report of these toxins in spores of Amanitas has been published. Reversed phase HPLC was used to determine nonzero concentrations of α-amanitin (0.30 mg/g), and phallacidin (0.02 mg/g) in spores taken from white Amanita sect. phalloideae species. We did not find significant amounts of phalloidin in Amanita spores. We also report concentrations of these toxins from pileus and stipe tissues that are similar to previously reported values, lending support to the hypothesis that toxin concentrations in spores are much less than in other basidiocarp tissues.

• α-amanitin
• Amanita
• Basidiomycota
• phallacidin
• spores

We thank St Lawrence University for financial support of this research and Heather Myler for assistance in the laboratory.