Mycologist Mikhail Vishnevsky, in an interview with Sputnik radio on Tuesday, September 15, said which edible mushrooms can have a toxic effect on the human body.
He noted that in early autumn, when the weather is humid and warm, mushrooms grow faster. This is both a plus and a minus at the same time, since with an increase in their number, the speed of their “maturation” also increases.
According to Vishnevsky, the older the mushroom, the wider its cap is open, and it has accumulated more useful substances. However, for gastronomic purposes, you should choose young mushrooms – they are smaller in size, and the edges of its cap are tighter to the edges.
Old and rotten edible types of mushrooms can have toxic effects on the human body.
“For a fungus to cause toxic harm, it must be old, be eaten by insect larvae, and touched by moldy and invisible pathogens such as unicellular parasitic amoebas. No mushroom picker would just think of putting it in a basket. Natural disgust will not allow you to take a rotten wormy mushroom, ”said Vishnevsky.
According to him, some mushroom pickers collect wormy mushrooms, convinced that the fruits have been eaten “quite a bit” and put their salt water in to get rid of the larvae. However, they are not the threat, but their allocation.
“They remain in the gnawed passages inside the mushroom. After that, mold, bacteria, unicellular pathogens and so on begin to settle there. Even if it is possible by some means to expel the larvae themselves, then one cannot get rid of the secretions inside the mushrooms, ”the specialist said.
In August, the Ministry of Emergency Situations told about the most dangerous places in the forest for those who like to pick mushrooms, as well as how to prepare for a hike for wild plants.