Chinese scientists have identified a substance that may be an antidote to pale mushroom (Amanita phalloides, Death cap) poisoning. A possible antidote was indocyanine green, a dye used in medicine. On this subject to write “New news”.
According to statistics, the pale grebe is the cause of more than 90% of deaths from mushroom poisoning. Previously, Amanita phalloides only grew in Europe, but now it is found all over the world. Outwardly and to taste, pale grebes resemble edible mushrooms, so they are often mistakenly eaten. Symptoms of poisoning do not appear immediately, so a person may eat a dose that proves fatal.
From the moment Amanita phalloides enters the human body, the toxins begin to destroy his liver. Without the intervention of doctors, the liver and kidneys can “fail”, which will lead to death. What makes the pale grebe so dangerous is still unknown, making it very difficult to find an antidote, the article points out.
However, chemists from Sun Yat-sen University in China have identified a substance that can serve as an antidote in case of poisoning. This substance, indocyanine green dye, has long been known and used in medicine for diagnostic imaging. Chinese scientists have found that it can reduce the activity of the main deadly toxin, α-amanitin, effectively blocking cell death.
They tested the antidote found on live mice, as well as mouse and human cells. Mice were injected with the toxin and treated with indocyanine green four hours later to mimic a likely scenario of treating poisoned humans. There was less organ damage and cell death in treated mice than in untreated mice, and survival was higher.
But when treated after eight and 12 hours, the drug was ineffective. This indicates that irreversible toxin damage is occurring early and treatment for poisoning should begin as soon as possible.
Now, scientists plan to find out how safe it is to administer indocyanine green to humans. As noted in the article, early results look promising for the creation of an antidote in the near future.
Read the Latest Ukraine War News on The Eastern Herald.
