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Abstract

By a simple combination of column and thin-layer chromatography, all of the toxic compounds in 1-2 g of air-dried mushrooms of Amanita phalloides (25 g of fresh materials) were isolated and quantitatively determined. In pure, non-resolved, fractions of toxins, e.g., mictures of phalloin, phalloidin and phallisin, the mount of each toxin was determined after acid hydrolysis of the peptides by ion-exchange chromatography of the corresponding γ-hydroxyleucine and γ-hydroxyisoleucine lactones, which is ion-exchange amino acid analysis behave like basic amino acids. For γ-lactones with chiral γ-carbon atoms, epimerisation during hydrolysis was observed. By this direct analysis of crude extracts, it was observed that the portion of aciding toxins is much larger than has been determined so far, namely up to 70% of all toxic peptides. It was further discovered that phallacidin is accompanied by an acidic, higher hydroxylated analogue. It contains, like phallisin, γ,δ,δ′-trihydroxyleucine and will be called phallisacin.