Amanitin content and toxicity of Amantia verna Bull

The alpha-, beta-, and gamma-amanitin content of 11 samples of Amanita verna Bull., collected during 1975--1978 in Germany and Switzerland, has been determined by high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) of crude methanolic extracts. The toxicity (i. v. LD50 for mice of defatted, lyophilized, methanolic extracts) of 3 samples has been compared with that of A. phalloides from the same site of collection. The amanitin content of A. verna ranged from 2250 to 4570 mg/kg dry weight; the fungi contained almost as much beta- as alpha-amanitin, whereas the gamma-amanitin content amounted to about 12% of the total amanitin. A verna contained less amanitin (65% on the average) than A. phalloides from the same collection site, but it was not significantly less toxic, since the phallotoxins contributed to the toxicity of either species in our tests.