Biochemistry
Omphalotus nidiformis is not edible. Although reputedly mild tasting, eating it will result in vomiting which generally occurs 30 minutes to two hours after consumption and lasts for several hours. There is no diarrhea and patients recover without lasting ill-effects. Its toxicity was first mentioned by Anthony M. Young in his 1982 guidebook Common Australian Fungi. The toxic ingredient of many species of Omphalotus is a sesquiterpene compound known as illudin S. This, along with illudin M and a co-metabolite illudosin, have been identified in O. nidiformis. The two illudins are common to the genus Omphalotus and not found in any other basidiomycete mushroom. An additional three compounds unique to O. nidiformis have been identified and named illudins F, G and H.
Extracts of several species of Australian mushrooms have been investigated for cytotoxicity to cancer cells; material from O. nidiformis showed marked toxicity to gastric (AGS), colon (HT-29) and estrogen-independent breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cell lines. Irofulven, a compound derived from illuden S, is undergoing phase II clinical trials as a possible therapy for various types of cancers. Fruit body extracts have antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties, which may be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds.
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