§ 517. A few cases of poisoning by the fly-blown agaric from time to time have occurred in Europe, where it has been eaten in mistake for the edible fungi, or taken by children allured by the bright attractive colours. In these cases the poisonous symptoms noticed have been those of gastro-intestinal irritation, as shown by vomiting and diarrhœa, dilated[554] pupils, delirium, tetanic convulsions, slow pulse, stertorous breathing, collapse, and death. In a few cases epileptic attacks and trismus have been observed. The course is usually a rapid one, the death occurring within twelve hours. In cases of recovery, convalescence has been prolonged.
[554] This is the more curious, for muscarine strongly contracts the pupil. It, however, tends to prove what is stated in the text—viz., that there is more than one poisonous substance in Amanita.
The post-mortem characteristics are not distinctive, a fluid condition of the blood, hyperæmia of the brain, liver, and kidneys has been noticed.
§ 518. Muscarine.—These effects are partly due to an undiscovered, toxic substance—which seems to be destroyed at the temperature of boiling water, and is probably of rather easy destructibility—and of a very definite poisonous alkaloid (muscarine) first separated by a complex process by Schmiedeberg and Koppe in 1869.[555] It is a trimethylammonium base, and has lately been formed synthetically by Schmiedeberg and Harnack,[556] by treating cholin with nitric acid. Muscarine is isomeric with betain and oxycholin, from which it is separated by its fluorescence and poisonous properties.
[555] Das Muscarin, das giftige Alkaloid des Fliegenpilzes. Leipzig, 1869.
[556] Arch. f. exper. Path., Bd. 4 u. 5.