Amanita
Pronunciation:am-uh-NEYE-tuh
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:None
Formal Names:Amanita muscaria
Informal Names:Aga, Fly Agaric
Type:Hallucinogen.Seepage 25
Federal Schedule Listing:Unlisted
USA Availability:Nonprescription natural product
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.These mushrooms are found in much of the Northern Hemisphere
and are known to grow elsewhere. Due to the possibility that an effective dose
is close to a poisonous dose, and because of variations in potency, these mush-
rooms are easily poisonous and have even been mixed with milk as bait to
kill flies. Persons seeking amanita sometimes accidentally ingestAmanita phal-
loides, also called Death Cap and Death Cup, which can be deadly poisonous
to the kidneys and liver. Confusion with other dangerous mushrooms has also
harmed people seekingAmanita muscaria.
TheAmanita muscariamushroom has been used to treatalcoholoverdose
and to relieve nervousness, fever, and pain of sore throat, nerves, and joints.
The natural product contains muscimol, a chemical that initially acts as a stim-
ulant but that can later produce temporary loss of muscular control as the
drug action proceeds. Muscarine chloride can be prepared from amanita. In
various animal species muscarine chloride can cause spasms and constrictions
and lower blood pressure. The relevance of those studies to humans is unclear;
for example, a dose that would poison a human leaves a monkey unfazed.
Bufoteninehas been reported in amanita, but the report is disputed. The
ibotenic acid in amanita can produce hallucinations; a case report mentions
visual hallucinations lasting for days after ingesting the mushroom. The mush-
room is said to produce euphoria and to cause changes in sensory perceptions.
Some persons consume the fungus for spiritual purpose, a practice that some
authorities date back to ancient Buddhist times, with the Buddhists perhaps
learning the custom from still older examples among forest peoples in north-
ern Europe and Asia. Usage by Siberian shamans has been documented in
modern times. Drug-induced insight into personal psychological issues is re-
ported.