I love the flavor that develops from lacto fermenting mushrooms. I’m a little bit suspicious of white button mushrooms (Agaricus species) since they contain agaritine. Agaritine is broken down by heat, making it safe. If you eat raw Agaricus, the agaritine is made into phenylhydrazines in the gut, which causes liver damage and can eventually make you anemic. Under no circumstances should you eat raw Agaricus.
So what about lacto-fermenting them? We know agaritine is heat sensitive. Is it also sensitive to microbial activity, so that it breaks down?
My last info was that there is no proof that there is enough agaritine to cause toxic effects. Found this meta study from 2010 but would be glad if someone had an update. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464610000241?via%3Dihub
I follow mycological authorities on this issue instead of judging on my own from the scientific articles. The consensus in the fungi community where I come from is that agaritine and the phenylhydrazines it creates in the gut are at the least suspect and potentially damaging to the liver. The official advice is to keep intake low until we know better and to not eat Agaricus raw (you shouldn’t eat mushrooms raw anyway).
Can you share some sources please?
Yes, here’s a source from Atlas of Danish Fungi: https://svampe.databasen.org/taxon/10061 It’s an online version mirroring Fungi of Temperate Europe, one of the most comprehensive mycological guides ever published.
There it says: Edibility: edible (contains phenyl hydrazines. Keep consumption low) Can you point to a source that supports your claims? The fact that they contain phenyl hydrazines was clear before and is discussed in the paper I linked. It even states it in ita first sentence.