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Brief Communication

Nature Chemical Biology 5, 465–467 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nchembio.179

Identification of the toxic trigger in mushroom poisoning

Masanori Matsuura , Yoko Saikawa , Kosei Inui , Koichi Nakae , Masayuki Igarashi , Kimiko Hashimoto & Masaya Nakata

We have isolated the small, highly strained carboxylic acid cycloprop-2-ene carboxylic acid from the Asian toxic mushroom Russula subnigricans. This compound is responsible for fatal rhabdomyolysis, a new type of mushroom poisoning that is indicated by an increase in serum creatine phosphokinase activity in mice.