Other plant-based food poisoning

作者：admin  点击次数：6  发布时间：2025-05-12

(I) Kidney bean poisoning
Depending on the region, kidney beans are also called beans, kidney beans, plum beans, lentils, and green beans. They are vegetables that people generally eat. However, people who are poisoned by eating kidney beans due to improper cooking often occur in various places.
The culprits of kidney bean poisoning are natural toxins such as hemagglutinin and saponin in lentils. These toxins are relatively heat-resistant and can only be destroyed after being heated to 100°C for a period of time. Kidney bean poisoning is caused by not fully heating the beans for the sake of crispness or color during cooking, so the toxins contained in the beans are not completely destroyed. Poisoning has no obvious relationship with age or gender.
The degree of poisoning is positively correlated with the amount of food consumed. Kidney bean poisoning generally causes symptoms of poisoning of the nervous system and digestive system within 2 to 4 hours after eating, mainly manifested as nausea, vomiting and watery stools. A few people may have headaches, dizziness, numbness of the limbs, chest tightness, palpitations, cold sweats, etc. Body temperature is generally normal. This type of poisoning develops quickly, has a short course, and recovers quickly. Most patients recover within 24 hours, and there are no deaths. Preventive measures: Stir-fry and cook thoroughly when cooking, preferably stew to destroy the toxins. When buying, choose tender beans, and it is best not to buy or eat old lentils.
(II) Datura poisoning
Datura, also known as Datura datura and crazy eggplant, is an annual herb and one of the commonly used Chinese medicines. The whole plant of Datura is poisonous, with the seeds being the most toxic. The toxic substances are hyoscyamine, scopolamine, and atropine. Among them, alkali (hyoscyaminc) has the function of exciting the brain and delaying the central nervous system, and can counteract or paralyze the peripheral nerves and parasympathetic nerves. Datura poisoning is mostly caused by its seeds being mixed with beans to make bean products, which cause poisoning after eating. Toxic plant food poisoning caused by ingestion of seeds, fruits or seedlings of the genus Datura in the Solanaceae family often presents symptoms within 0.5 to 1 hour after ingestion, which are symptoms of inhibition of the parasympathetic nervous system and excitement of the central nervous system. The main manifestations are: decreased body secretion, dry mouth, dry scarlet skin, especially on the face, and occasional erythematous rash; dizziness, increased blood pressure, extreme restlessness, and even convulsions; multi-talk, delirium, auditory hallucinations, dilated pores, and blurred vision. In severe cases, mania and delirium may lead to coma, decreased blood pressure, weakened breathing, and finally death from respiratory failure. The degree of poisoning is related to age, medication method and individual tolerance.
Preventive measures: Strengthen management to prevent Datura seeds from mixing into grains; when processing beans, pay attention to checking and thoroughly removing the mixed Datura seeds; do a good job of publicity and education to educate the masses not to eat Datura berries, seeds and leaves.
(III) Tung oil poisoning

Tung oil is an industrial oil extracted from the seeds of tung trees. Its color and taste are similar to those of general vegetable oils, so it is easy to be poisoned by mistake. It can also be poisoned by mistakenly eating tung seeds. In addition, if the container that has been used to hold tung oil is used to hold edible oil without being cleaned, it can also cause poisoning after consumption.

The main toxic component of tung oil is eleostearic acid. Eleostearic acid has a strong irritating effect on the gastrointestinal tract. After absorption, it is excreted by the kidneys and can damage the kidneys. In addition, it can also damage the liver, heart, nervous system, etc.

The incubation period of tung oil poisoning is generally 0.5~4h. In mild cases, eleostearic acid stimulates the gastrointestinal tract and causes vomiting and diarrhea, dizziness, headache, numbness of limbs and lips, dilated pupils, blurred vision, convulsions of limbs, laryngeal muscle spasms, drowsiness, and even coma. In severe cases, the toxins absorb human blood and stimulate the kidneys, causing kidney damage, which may cause fever, vomiting blood, bloody stools, shortness of breath, rapid pulse, myocardial damage, and even collapse. If treated in time, the patient can recover quickly and death is rare. Preventive measures: Store tung oil and edible oil separately; the container for tung oil should be dedicated and clearly marked to avoid accidental ingestion; it is strictly forbidden to use a container that has been used to hold tung oil to hold edible oil.
(IV) Poisoning by fresh daylily
Daylily, also known as purple camp and forget-me-not, is a perennial herb. Fresh daylily contains colchicine, which is not toxic in itself, but after gastrointestinal absorption, it can be oxidized and converted into colchicine during metabolism, which is a highly toxic substance. Adults can be poisoned by taking 0.1~0.2mg of colchicine (equivalent to 50~100g of fresh daylily) at a time. If the intake reaches more than 3mg at a time, it will cause severe poisoning and even the risk of death. Colchicine is mainly toxic to the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system of the human body and has a strong irritating effect. Poisoning caused by fresh daylily usually presents symptoms within 0.5~4 hours, mainly dry throat, palpitation, chest tightness, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In severe cases, hematuria, bloody stools and coma may also occur. Preventive measures: To prevent fresh daylily poisoning, first, do not consume too much each time, generally not more than 50g; second, blanch the fresh daylily before cooking, then soak it in clean water for 2~3 hours, and change the water in the middle. Because colchicine is easily soluble in water, most of it can be removed after this treatment; third, dry it in the sun before eating after picking to ensure safety.
(V) Ginkgo poisoning
Ginkgo, also known as ginkgo, is a specialty of my country. The toxic components of ginkgo are ginkgolic acid in the flesh and seed coat, ginkgolic acid and ginkgolic acid in the seeds and kernels, among which ginkgolic acid is the most toxic. After absorption, ginkgo poison damages the nervous system, causing symptoms of first excitement and then inhibition, and damages peripheral nerves, causing functional disorders. Ginkgo acid and ginkgo poison have hemolytic effects. The severity of ginkgo poisoning is related to the amount consumed and personal physique. The average poisoning dose for children is 10 to 50 seeds. When human skin comes into contact with the kernel or fleshy outer seed coat, it can cause dermatitis and skin redness and swelling. After being absorbed through the skin or eating the poisonous parts of ginkgo, the toxin enters the small intestine and is then absorbed, acting on the central nervous system, so the main manifestations are central nervous system damage and gastrointestinal symptoms.
The incubation period of poisoning is 1 to 14 hours. Mild cases have mental sluggishness, slow reaction, loss of appetite, dry mouth, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea, etc., which can be cured in 1 to 2 days. In addition to gastrointestinal symptoms, severe cases also have convulsions, limb rigidity, difficulty breathing, confusion, dilated pupils, etc. Severe cases are often life-threatening due to respiratory failure and heart failure in 1 to 2 days.
Preventive measures: Avoid contact with the seed coat when collecting ginkgo nuts; do not eat raw or spoiled ginkgo nuts; remove the shell of raw ginkgo nuts and the green embryo in the flesh, add water to cook, discard the water and then eat, do not eat too much.
5. Puffer fish poisoning
(-) Etiology
Puffer fish is a warm-water marine benthic fish, distributed in major sea areas in my country, some of which also enter rivers to spawn (around the Qingming Festival, they swim upstream from the sea to the mouth of the river to spawn), and the main causes of human poisoning are star-spotted pufferfish and leopard-printed pufferfish. Puffer fish is a delicious but highly toxic fish, and the main substance that causes poisoning is tetrodotoxin (TTX). TTX is a colorless needle-shaped crystal, odorless, and slightly soluble in water. The physical and chemical properties of this poison are stable. Generally, it is not destroyed by heating, boiling, sun exposure, and salting. It is stable to low pH, but is easily degraded at pH above 7. It can only be completely destroyed by heating at 100℃ for 24h or 120℃ for 20~30min. TTX is a non-protein, low molecular weight, highly active neurotoxin with a molecular formula of CHNOTTX. It mainly acts on the nervous system, inhibits the permeability of nerve cells to sodium ions, thereby blocking the conduction of nerve impulses and paralyzing nerve endings and nerve centers. It also causes peripheral vasodilation, blood pressure drop, and finally paralysis of the respiratory center and vasomotor center.
The poisoning of puffer fish is relatively complicated, and its toxicity varies with factors such as the part of the fish body, species, season, gender, and growth waters. In general, the toxicity of eggs, ovaries, liver, and skin is the strongest in the fish body, followed by kidneys, intestines, eyes, gills, brain marrow, blood, etc., and muscles and testicles are less toxic. Spring is the ovarian development period of female fish, and the ovarian toxicity is the strongest. In addition, the liver toxicity is also the strongest in spring, so pufferfish poisoning is most likely to occur in spring; in summer and autumn, after the fish spawn, the ovaries degenerate and the toxicity is weakened. Most farmed fresh and clean fish meat can be considered non-toxic.
Pufferfish poisoning mainly occurs in Japan, Southeast Asian countries and my country. Most of them are accidental ingestion, and some people are poisoned by eating pufferfish but not removing its toxins.
(II) Symptoms of poisoning
TTX is easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and can also be absorbed from the oral mucosa. Therefore, the characteristics of poisoning are rapid and severe onset, and the incubation period is very short, as short as 10~30min, and as long as 3~6 hours. The onset is rapid and fierce. Initially, there are gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, thirst, numbness of lips, tongue, fingertips, etc., and then develop into loss of sensation, paralysis of the limbs, ataxia, paralysis of the whole body, slurred speech, dilated pupils and hypothermia. Severe cases die from respiratory failure. The mortality rate is 40%~60%.
(III) Preventive measures To prevent puffer fish poisoning, strict control should be exercised in fishery production and marketing, and the following should be repeatedly and deeply publicized to the public: ① All puffer fish caught in fishery production should be sent to the aquatic product purchasing department and sent to the designated unit for processing. Fresh river fish should not be allowed to enter the market or mixed with other aquatic products. (2) Units approved to process puffer fish must strictly follow the regulations and have professionals perform the "three removals" processing, i.e., remove the internal organs, skin, and head; wash away the blood stains, and then salt and dry them. The internal organs, skin, and head cut off, as well as the spoiled puffer fish removed during operation, should be properly handled and should not be discarded at will. ③ Production, marketing, and processing units must properly store and strictly prevent loss of river puffer fish during the process of releasing and transferring river puffer fish. ④ Strengthen health education to improve consumers' ability to identify puffer fish and their awareness of TTX to prevent accidental ingestion.