Truffle poisoning: how to recognize it and what to do

Is there any form of toxicity in truffles?

In truffles, as in mushrooms, there are actually two degrees of toxicity:

• intrinsic, which is inherent to the fungus itself,
• extrinsic, which originates from the environment where the fungus is found, and this second form is contaminated by chemical principles, radioactive agents, and also heavy metals.

Intrinsic toxicity

An ancient Latin text claimed that every mushroom was toxic. In fact, science has since found proof of this assumption. It is not uncommon for those who consume mushrooms to experience so-called intolerance reactions, both upon first consumption and subsequent ones.

To give an example, we must mention a chemical component of mushrooms, mannitol, which often reaches high concentrations and can lead to gastrointestinal problems such as osmotic diarrhea in those who consume this food.

Mushroom allergies

But when it comes to mushrooms, there are not only intolerances; there are also allergies that must be taken into account. People's immune systems react specifically to certain varieties of fungi. An example of these reactions is highlighted by Paxillus involutus, and allergic phenomena deriving from this fungus tend to manifest after the second consumption and subsequent to an initial phase of hypersensitization.

It should also be noted that the allergy that can develop may also derive from a personal hereditary enzymatic deficit connected to trehalase. It is clear that the toxicity of mushrooms and also the development of hypersensitization to them originate from both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

What is a fungus?

Often in the Italian language, definitions are provided that do not exactly correspond to what is being described by the words used. An example of this is the fungus itself, which is merely the fruit called Carpophore of a vegetation, made up of a series of filaments defined as hyphae that are present in the soil all year round, found beneath tree bark and in other environments.

Fungi develop practically everywhere, but their ideal habitat is the forest, at every altitude, and they play an indispensable role in safeguarding the ecosystem. These fruits, which can have different shapes, various colors, and sizes, contain the reproductive apparatus through spores, allowing for the continuity of fungal life.

Mechanisms of mushroom poisoning

Among the mechanisms that generate poisoning are:

• The consumption of toxic wild mushrooms. These mushrooms are not preventively checked by a mycologist, and often by those who collect them, so they are mistaken for edible species.
• The consumption of edible mushrooms that are poorly cooked. Examples include ingesting stems and the absence of proper pre-boiling.
• The consumption of edible mushrooms that have spoiled.
• The voluntary consumption of mushrooms as a drug.
• Consumption of a spoiled truffle (perhaps with mold or the presence of dipterans) 

Poisonous truffles

In past times, there were periods when it was thought that truffles contained poisons capable of causing death to those who consumed this tuber. It must be said that the risk of poisoning was not connected to the truffle itself, but rather to the place where this fungus grew, for example, snake nests, animal dens, industrial waste, or rusted iron could be found on the ground.

Guainero, in his text titled: Pratica Medicinae, among all other topics, considers mushroom poisoning and consequently also truffle poisoning. In this volume, after having described in detail the sufferings due to intoxication, he developed a theory (at the time, so do not repeat it!), which was to cook mushrooms and truffles together with pears, which, according to Guainero's view, absorbed the poisons produced by the mushrooms.

But there is a kernel of truth in this "technique," only it doesn't concern pears but rather the temperature at which mushrooms are cooked. This temperature should be 60-70 degrees Celsius, and only then does cooking allow for the complete elimination of the harmfulness of what are called inedible truffles. However, we stick to the advice given previously: do not do this alone, seek advice from experts in the field, and in any case, continue to avoid toxic species.

Dioscorides' time

Up to this point, we have written about possible cooking methods. Some recipes come from Dioscorides and specifically from the work: De Materia Medica. This work suggested that in case of mushroom poisoning, the ingredients to be used were:

• vinegar
• salted preparations
• chicken manure

In short, nothing gratifying, it seems, from the "ingredients" that were foreseen to counteract mushroom poisoning!

The first treatise on truffle poisoning

A text dealing exclusively with truffles, the first of all texts, dates back to the 16th century (MDLXIIII) and was written by Alfonso Ciccarelli, a doctor from Umbria.
It seems that a death incident due to the consumption of a truffle for food purposes that caused congestion was reported by a writer in the year 1368. Fungi are quite complex organisms and play an important role in the ecology of the habitats where they develop. They do not have chlorophyll, they store glycogen, and their nutrition is fulfilled thanks to substances elaborated by other living beings.

Clinical intoxication

Symptoms of truffle intoxication are gastrointestinal symptoms, and these include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The time of their manifestation varies, depending on the type of mushroom; the minimum is 30 minutes, but it can extend up to 6 hours after consumption. Sometimes, they can even appear after 12-20 hours, in which case the risk of intoxication can be so high as to endanger the life of the person who ate the mushroom.

Is there a poisonous truffle? Yes, there are poisonous truffles that can trigger the symptoms explained in this article.