This mushroom will kill you before you know what’s happening - Michael Beug

譯者: 品萱 蔡 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

It is said that to secure Nero’s succession as fifth emperor of Rome,

據說，為了確保尼羅繼任 成為羅馬的第五位皇帝，

his mother, Agrippina, discreetly assassinated her own husband.

他的母親阿格里皮娜 暗殺了自己的丈夫。

The murder weapon?

謀殺武器？

A handful of death cap mushrooms.

一把死帽蕈。

Humans have clearly known about the toxicity of death caps for millennia.

幾千年來，人類已清楚知道 死帽蕈的毒性。

Yet these mushrooms continue to pose a significant threat

然而，這種毒菇仍然對世界各地

to unsuspecting foragers and mushroom hunters throughout the world.

毫無戒心的採菇人構成重大威脅。

Today, death caps are responsible for more than 90%

如今，死帽蕈是 90% 以上

of all mushroom related deaths,

食用菇類死亡案例的原因，

killing upwards of 100 people each year.

每年造成超過 100 人死亡。

So, what makes this one species of mushroom so dangerous?

為什麼這種菇類會如此危險？

Despite their danger, death caps, known scientifically as Amanita phalloides,

死帽蕈學名為 Amanita phalloides, 儘管含有劇毒，

look relatively unassuming.

看起來卻貌不驚人。

They emerge enclosed in a white egg-like membrane that ruptures,

死帽蕈長出來時， 包在白色蛋狀的膜中，

膜破裂後，在菇柄底部 留下一個杯狀的袋子。

leaving a cup-like sac at the stem’s base.

Mature mushrooms are domed with white or greenish yellow caps

成熟的蕈菇為圓頂形， 蕈傘是白色或黃綠色，

measuring anywhere from 4 to 16 centimeters in width.

寬度介於 4 到 16 公分。

And just half of a cap can contain enough toxin to kill an adult.

半個蕈傘含有的毒素，

就足以殺死一個成年人。

While death caps produce several types of toxins,

死帽蕈會產生多種類型的毒素，

one class, amatoxins, are by far the most dangerous.

但其中一個種類-- 阿瑪托辛（亞麻毒素），

毒性最強。

They’re hearty compounds,

這種毒素是強靭的化合物，

not easily destroyed by cooking, freezing, or drying.

不會因烹煮、冷凍或烘乾而破壞。

And if ingested, amatoxins easily pass through the intestinal wall

一旦攝入，亞麻毒素很容易穿過腸壁，

to enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc on multiple systems.

進入血液，在多種器官肆虐。

Their main method of destruction is blocking the action of enzymes

他們的主要破壞方式是

阻止一種稱作 RNA 聚合酶的酵素作用。

called RNA polymerases.

These enzymes are essential to the body,

這些酶對身體至關重要，

as they allow the cells to build the proteins they need to function.

因為它們讓細胞能夠 構建所需的蛋白質。

For example, amatoxins inhibit the production of blood clotting compounds,

例如，亞麻毒素抑制 凝血化合物的產生，

which can cause a person to bleed out.

這可能導致一個人出血。

In the kidneys, they slowly obstruct the body’s ability

在腎臟中，它們會逐漸阻礙

人體調節液體和產生尿液的能力。

to regulate fluids and produce urine.

But they’re perhaps the most damaging to the liver.

但毒素對肝臟的危害可能最嚴重。

The liver is where waste products, including toxins,

肝臟是廢物（包括毒素）

are filtered out of the blood, so amatoxins naturally accumulate.

從血液中過濾出來的地方，

因此亞麻毒素自然會在此聚集。

This toxin bombardment blocks the turnover of new proteins,

這種毒素阻止了新蛋白的轉化，

causing these liver cells to die.

導致肝細胞死亡。

Over time, this can lead to liver failure and eventually death.

隨著時間，這可能導致肝衰竭，

最終死亡。

One puzzling death cap mystery that continues to elude scientists

科學家一直無法解開死帽蕈之謎，

is understanding exactly what benefits poisonous amatoxins

他們不確定亞麻毒素 究竟對蕈菇本身有什麼好處。

provide to the mushroom.

Amatoxins are secondary metabolites,

亞麻毒素是次級代謝物，

meaning they’re not essential for mushroom growth or survival.

這意味著它們對蕈菇的生長 或生存並非必要。

And grazing rabbits, rodents, and humans are often a highly effective mode

吃草的兔子、鼠類和採菇的人類

通常能有效地幫菇類傳播孢子。

of spore dispersal for other mushroom species.

So, what’s the evolutionary advantage of poisoning them?

那麼，蕈菇有毒， 會有什麼進化優勢？

And amatoxins aren't exclusive to death caps.

亞麻毒素並不是死帽蕈獨有的。

They’re also produced by several other species of mushrooms,

其他幾種蘑菇也會產生，

from the genera Galerina and Lepiota.

像是盔孢傘和環柄菇等品種。

Yet unlike death caps,

然而，與死帽蕈不同，

poisonous Galerina and Lepiota species cause relatively few human deaths.

有毒的種類，如盔孢傘和環柄菇，

造成死亡案例相對較少。

The reason for this is two-fold.

這有雙重的原因。

First, these Galerina and Lepiota mushrooms are quite distinguishable,

首先，盔孢傘和環柄菇很容易分辨，

whereas death caps, especially young ones,

而死帽蕈，尤其是初生的蕈菇，

can easily be mistaken for other edible mushrooms,

很容易被誤認為其他可食用的菇類，

like straw mushrooms or puffballs.

例如草菇或馬勃菌。

Further, death caps have a relatively large range.

此外，死帽蕈的生長範圍相對較大。

While native to Europe, they're now found on every continent except Antarctica.

雖然它們原生於歐洲，

但現在每個大陸，除南極洲以外， 都可以發現它們的蹤跡。

Death caps form close symbiotic relationships with European hardwoods

死帽蕈與歐洲硬木和針葉樹 形成密切的共生關係。

and conifers.

Throughout the 20th century,

整個 20 世紀，

as these trees were planted in colonized regions around the world,

隨著這些樹木在世界各地 的殖民地區種植，

death caps covertly tagged along.

死帽蕈偷偷地藏身其中。

幸運的是，

Thankfully, if a victim of death cap poisoning is properly treated

如果死帽蕈的受害者在食用後， 馬上得到適當治療，

soon after ingestion,

up to 90% of patients will survive.

多達 90％ 的患者會活下來。

Treatment doesn’t require any sort of special antidote—

治療不需要任何特殊的解毒劑，

a continuous, aggressive IV drip is often enough to flush the toxins from the blood.

連續大量的靜脈點滴

通常足以清除血液中的毒素。

However, not all doctors know how to properly treat or recognize

然而，並非所有醫生都能 識別死帽蕈中毒，或正確治療。

death cap poisoning.

Initial symptoms can look similar to other types of food poisoning.

初期症狀可能很像 其他類型的食物中毒。

To add to the confusion,

令人更加困惑的是，

because amatoxins build up slowly in the liver,

因為亞麻毒素在肝臟中緩慢累積，

the most dire symptoms often don’t appear until days after consumption.

更嚴重的症狀通常 在食用後幾天才出現。

Despite growing medical knowledge,

儘管醫學知識越來越豐富，

it’s important that mushroom hunters throughout the world

重要的是，世界各地的蘑菇採集者，

learn how to properly recognize and avoid this deadly species.

要學習如何正確識別， 並避免這種致命的物種。

So, if you ever find yourself foraging, remember to be on guard,

因此，如果您正在採集，

請記得保持警覺，

and when in doubt, it’s always best to toss it out.

不確定的話，最好就丟掉。