Toxic mushroom molecule discovered
by
Nina Notman, RSC
—
last modified
06-12-09 03:31 AM
Copyright 2009, RSC
A simple compound containing a highly strained three-carbon ring has been found to be the toxic culprit in a highly poisonous Asian mushroom.
A team of Japanese researchers studied the mushroom Russula subnigricans and isolated cycloprop-2-ene carboxylic acid - a highly unstable molecule that has never been seen in nature before - and demonstrated that it is fatal in mice.
More: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/May/24050901.asp
