Edible, medicinal and poisonous mushrooms

This is a hybrid course, with online sessions and onsite session at University of Novi Sad. The course aims at improving students’ knowledge and awareness of importance of mushrooms as a specific group of organisms from the aspect of their use in nutrition and healing treatment (as functional food) and about the mushrooms as a producers of specific toxins that could be a threat to a humans health. Participants who finish the course will gain 5 ECTS

The programme schedule will include: 2, 16 and 30 March 2024 – online course 2h, 6 April 2024 – seminar work online, 10–11 May 2024 - one day fieldwork and one day laboratory exercises.

Theory:

• Life strategies and the importance of mushrooms/fungi in nature.
• Nutritional values of mushrooms.
• Medicinal properties of mushrooms.
• The most important species of edible and poisonous mushrooms
• Mushrooms grown for commercial use.
• Mechanisms of toxins produced by mushrooms.
• False and mild mushroom poisoning.

An additional focus of the training is to familiarize participants with the knowledge of the most important poisoning syndromes: phalloidin, orellanin, gyromitrin, muscarin, pantherin, psilocybin, coprinus syndrome, paxillus syndrome, gastrointestinal syndromes. Together with this, a special lecture will be devoted to the conservation of mushroom species and their habitat in nature, heavy metals, radioactive elements and other toxic substances in wild growing mushrooms.

Practice:

• The participants will learn and practice successful field work - recognition of habitats of edible and poisonous mushroom species and rules of collecting (mushroom hunting).
• Laboratory work - determination of edible and poisonous mushroom species, conservation of mushrooms, preparation of beverages and tinctures, first aid procedures and treatment etc.
• Seminar work - on selected topics based on student interest (online).

Learning objectives

Participants can expect to learn about the importance of mushrooms as a specific group of organisms from the aspect of their use in nutrition and healing treatment (as functional food), to recognize major mushroom species in nature, together with learning about the mushrooms as a producers of specific toxins that could be a threat to a humans health.

Competences

• Critical thinking
• Knowledge into action
• Creativity & problem solving

Requirements

• Previous knowledge not needed.
• Selection strategy: Motivation letter, 25 applicants equally distributed among partners, will be accepted for the course.
• Number of participants: 25.
• Certificate/ECTS: 5 ECTS. Certificates will be awarded to all students participating in the programme onsite at UNS after finishing the course and will be sent by e-mail to all participants as well.
• Language: English.

This activity is part of Work Package 2.