MEDICINAL BUT LETHAL: SCHIZOPHYLLUM COMMUNE.
Schizophyllum commune is a mushroom of phylum basidiomycota, Schizophyllaceae family, with worldwide distribution that colonizes diverse trees and rotting woods. During rain showers they opened up and were soft, pliable and more colorful – only to turn back to their hard and white stage when the sun came out again. They deserve a second look, especially their gills, because these are unique among mushrooms. The gills are split on the tips and the edges curl outwards; It is found in the wild on decaying trees after rainy seasons followed by dry spells where the mushrooms are naturally collected. Buller, a mycologist who was a keen observer of everything that has to do with spore production and dispersal, found out that even after two years of drought, a split gill fruitbody would spring back to life and start forming spores again when wetted. In wet weather, when the conditions for spore germination are ideal, they straighten out. Then the hymenium, where the spores are formed, is exposed and offspring can be sent out into the world. Split gills are the only fungi with this mechanism, and the anatomy of their fruitbodies is different from all other gilled mushrooms. Basically, they are formed by a fusion of several separate, smoothsurfaced, up-side-down cups in which, secondarily, the gills are formed. But these gills are not of the same type of tissue as in your Amanita. It is known for its high medicinal value and aromatic taste profile. It has recently attracted the medicinal industry for its immunomodulatory, antifungal, antineoplastic and antiviral activities that are higher than those of any other glucan complex carbohydrate.
Infections originating from this fungus are rare in humans. Diverse clinical cases include chronic or allergic sinusitis, pulmonary disease, ulcerative lesions of the palate, atypical meningitis, cerebral abscess, and possible onychomycosis, which can occur in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Infective propagules in this fungus are air transported, thus, most frequently compromising the paranasal sinuses; hence, the most common affliction is sinusitis that presents three clinical manifestations: allergy, chronic, noninvasive, and invasive (acute or chronic). Well-documented cases of S. commune infections include allergic bronchopulmonary disease, fungus ball in the lung, repeated isolation from the sputum of a patient with chronic lung disease, ulcerative lesions of the hard palate, and a nail infection. The isolation of S. commune from cerebrospinal fluid in a patient manifesting signs of atypical meningitis has been reported.
Fungal sinusitis is a rare entity that has increased in recent years in immunocompetent individuals. It reveals three clinical manifestations: allergic, chronic, noninvasive, and invasive. The allergic manifestation involves immunocompetent patients, and it is characterized by allergic mucin with eosinophils and Charcot-Leyden crystals, as well as increased serum IgE. The chronic noninvasive manifestation affects immunocompetent individuals and does not cause mucosal or blood vessel invasion. The invasive manifestation occurs in immunosuppressed individuals with tissue and vascular invasion.
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