Intoxication by Cortinarius orellanus: detection and assay of orellanine in biological fluids and renal biopsies.

A woman suffering from acute tubulo-interstitial nephritis was admitted to the hospital ten days after deliberate intoxication by ingestion of Cortinarius orellanus. Orellanine, the main toxin responsible for orellanine poisoning, was detected in biological fluids and renal biopsies. It was assayed by direct spectrofluorimetry on two-dimensional thin-layer chromatograms after specific photodecomposition into orelline. The orellanine concentration was 6.12 mg/l in the plasma (10 days after ingestion). Orellanine levels in renal biopsies were 7 micrograms per 25 mm3 of the first biopsy (13 days after ingestion) and 24 micrograms per 8 mm3 of the second biopsy (6 months later).