Not all toxic compounds produced by fungi are called mycotoxins

[Guest guest]

Well, it appears that some toxic compounds from molds that, although

being toxic, " are rather arbitrarily excluded from discussions of

mycotoxicology " .

Perhaps this is why we can't get any help and doctors look at us

like we are crazy.

Instead of saying " We are sick from mold-toxins/mycotoxins " , we are

supposed to be aware that microbial volatile organic compounds are

not " mycotoxins " and cannot mistakenly refer to them as such.

In the world of toxicology, " toxins " are taxonomically classified

by human intention instead of toxic effect.

So beware, if you are made ill by mVOC's instead of true fungal

secondary metabolites: " mycotoxins " , be prepared to prove that you

have identified the " true mycotoxin " component of exposure by Dr

Crofts trichothecene testing so that your illness won't be confused

with " mVOCtoxins " - a separate thing entirely.

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>While all mycotoxins are of fungal origin, not all toxic compounds

produced by fungi are called mycotoxins. The target and the

concentration of the metabolite are both important. Fungal products

that are mainly toxic to bacteria (such as penicillin) are usually

called antibiotics. Fungal products that are toxic to plants are

called phytotoxins by plant pathologists (confusingly, the term

phytotoxin can also refer to toxins made by plants; see Graniti [93]

for a cogent discussion of the etymology of phytotoxin and its use

in plant pathology). Mycotoxins are made by fungi and are toxic to

vertebrates and other animal groups in low concentrations. Other low-

molecular-weight fungal metabolites such as ethanol that are toxic

only in high concentrations are not considered mycotoxins (10).

Finally, although mushroom poisons are definitely fungal metabolites

that can cause disease and death in humans and other animals, they

are rather arbitrarily excluded from discussions of mycotoxicology.

Molds (i.e., microfungi) make mycotoxins; mushrooms and other

macroscopic fungi make mushroom poisons. The distinction between a

mycotoxin and a mushroom poison is based not only on the size of the

producing fungus, but also on human intention. Mycotoxin exposure is

almost always accidental. In contrast, with the exception of the

victims of a few mycologically accomplished murderers, mushroom

poisons are usually ingested by amateur mushroom hunters who have

collected, cooked, and eaten what was misidentified as a delectable

species (184).<