Bolesatine, a toxic protein from the mushroom Rubroboletus satanas

Abstract

Rubroboletus satanas (Lenz) Kuan Zhao & Zhu L. Yang, known as Boletus satanas (Lenz) until 2014, and commonly known as the Devil's bolete or Satan's bolete, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the bolete family. Grows in mixed woodlands in the southern, warmer regions of Europe and North America. Satan's bolete generally regarded as a poisonous mushroom, with predominantly gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea and violent vomiting occurring if eaten raw or isufficiently heat-treated. The toxicity of the mushroom corresponds to a toxic protein called bolesatine. Bolesatine is a toxic glycoprotein which has been shown to inhibit protein synthesis in cell-free systems and cell culture and is toxic to rodents. Biology, chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of bolesatine is discussed in this article.