Confronting the Death Cap's Reign of Terror with Indocyanine Green
For many years, the world’s deadliest mushroom known to humans, the death cap, has been considered lacking an antidote.
Indocyanine green, a dye used for medical imaging, has been found to have the qualities of a potential antidote for the death cap mushroom.
Every year, the death cap mushroom is responsible for 100 deaths, and it causes illness in thousands more.
During foraging, many death cap victims mistake edible mushrooms such as puffballs and paddy straws for death caps.
The only current way to survive death cap mushroom poisoning is immediate medical intervention in the emergency room.
Scientists were surprised to find a connection between the dye and the mushroom toxin after further investigation.
Alpha-amanitin, a toxin present in death caps, can cause severe liver damage, vomiting, seizures, and fatality.
Using CRISPR gene editing technology, the research team understood how the mushroom’s toxin affects cells.
Indocyanine green has potential as an STT3B inhibitor and a possible antidote for death cap mushroom poisoning.
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