Toxin content, phallotoxin and amatoxin composition of Amanita phalloides tissues.

The toxin content and composition of Amanita phalloides tissues were determined in three specimens at two carpophore development stages. The carpophore was subdivided into six parts, namely, the cap, gills, ring, stipe, volva and bulb. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such an investigation on the ring and the bulb. Substantial differences in the tissue toxin content were revealed. The ring displayed a very high amount of toxins, whereas the bulb had the lowest toxin content. Compositional differences in relation to the nature of the tissue were also noted. The highest amatoxin content was found in the ring, gills and cap, whereas the bulb and volva were the richest in phallotoxins. Furthermore, variability in the toxin composition was observed. The differences in the distribution of individual toxins in the tissues might be related to the carpophore developmental stage.