The most dangerous mushroom in the world – scientists may now have found an antidote to it

The fly agaric is the poisonous mushroom that kills most people in the world.

Now Chinese and Australian scientists have found an antidote.

A medicinal tincture used in healthcare could prove to be a life saver for someone who ate the mushroom.

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Malignant fly agaric, Amanita phalloidesAnd Which is also found in our Swedish forests, is one of the most dangerous mushrooms that can be eaten.

It accounts for 90 percent of all fungus-related deaths in the world.

The poison, amanitin, attacks the kidneys and liver and even in small amounts the mushroom is deadly to consume.

Chinese and Australian researchers have now discovered that a pigment, indocyanine green, a pigment used in US medical imaging, appears to block the toxic effects of amatinin, according to Watchman.

The dye is used, among other things, to check heart and liver function and is then injected into patients.

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It must be given quickly

In tests with cells from mice and humans, researchers found that the dye can prevent kidney and liver damage caused by amatinin.

Increases the chance of surviving poisoning.

The results are promising, but more clinical trials are needed to determine whether indocyanine green has similar effects in humans, says Professor Qiaoping Wang of Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China.

The researchers were able to show that the dye worked as an antidote in mice that received it four hours after the poisoning — but not if they received it twelve hours later.

By then it was too late.

It is possible that the mushroom’s toxin may have already caused irreversible damage to liver and kidney cells.

This indicates that indocyanine green should be given as early as possible during treatment, say the researchers.