Many people believe that poisonous plants are mostly unfamiliar wild plants, but this is not the case. Some common edible plants in our daily lives, such as grain crops, oil crops, vegetables, and fruits, can also contain factors that may cause poisoning. The following introduces several common edible poisonous plants.
Green Beans
If green beans are not cooked thoroughly, the saponin in the beans can strongly irritate the digestive tract. Moreover, the beans contain a凝血素 (coagulation factor) that has a coagulant effect. Additionally, green beans also contain nitrites and trypsin, which can irritate the human stomach and intestines, leading to food poisoning and symptoms of gastroenteritis. To prevent green bean poisoning, be sure to cook them thoroughly.
Broad Beans
Broad bean seeds contain vicine, which can cause acute hemolytic anemia (favism) after consumption. When eating green broad beans in spring and summer, improper cooking often leads to poisoning. Generally, symptoms appear 4 to 24 hours after eating raw broad beans. To prevent broad bean poisoning, it is best not to eat fresh, tender broad beans, and they must be cooked before consumption.
Uncooked Soy Milk
Since raw soybeans also contain toxic components, drinking uncooked soy milk can also cause food poisoning. Especially when soy milk is heated to about 80°C, the saponin expands, foam rises to the surface, creating a "false boil" phenomenon. In fact, the toxic components like saponin in the soy milk are not completely destroyed at this point. Drinking this soy milk will cause poisoning, with symptoms usually appearing 0.5 to 1 hours after consumption, mainly showing gastroenteritis symptoms. To prevent poisoning from uncooked soy milk, after the "false boil" occurs during cooking, continue heating to 100°C. Cooked soy milk has no foam, and the disappearance of the foam indicates that toxic components like saponin have been destroyed. Then, simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes to make it safe for consumption.
Cassava
Although the root of cassava is rich in starch, all parts of the plant, including the root, stem, and leaves, contain toxic substances, with the fresh root being more toxic. Therefore, special care must be taken when consuming cassava roots. The toxic substance in cassava is linamarin. Consuming raw or uncooked cassava or drinking its soup can cause poisoning. This is because linamarin or linamarase is hydrolyzed by gastric acid to produce free hydrocyanic acid, which poisons the human body. A person can be poisoned by consuming 150 to 300 grams of raw cassava, which can even be fatal. To prevent cassava poisoning, peel the cassava before consumption and soak the flesh in water to dissolve the cyanogenic glycosides. Soaking for about 6 days can remove 70% of the cyanogenic glycosides, and then it can be heated and cooked for consumption.
Sprouted Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the common vegetables on the family dining table, but they contain the toxic component solanine (also called potato toxin or solanine). The entire potato plant contains this toxin, but the content varies. Mature potatoes contain less and generally do not cause poisoning. However, the sprouts, flowers, leaves, and the outer skin of the tuber contain higher levels of solanine, with the toxin in the sprout part being tens to hundreds of times higher than in the flesh. Immature green potatoes or tubers with black spots due to improper storage also contain extremely high levels of toxic substances.
To prevent potato poisoning, we can store potatoes in a dry, cool place to prevent sprouting. When eating, if sprouts or black-green skin and flesh are found, it is best not to consume them.
Greens
Wild vegetables in greens, such as shepherd's purse and lamb's quarters, contain large amounts of nitrites. If the human body ingests excessive nitrites, it can oxidize normal hemoglobin into methemoglobin. Furthermore, nitrites can prevent oxyhemoglobin from releasing oxygen, leading to tissue and organ hypoxia and poisoning. So, how can we prevent nitrite poisoning? It's actually quite simple: ensure family members eat fresh vegetables, do not store cooked vegetables for too long, and pickled vegetables should be washed only after being pickled for at least one month.
Daylilies
Daylilies, also known as golden needles, are a beloved dish. However, daylilies contain colchicine. After being ingested, colchicine is oxidized in the human body to form colchicine dioxide, which is a highly toxic substance that can poison the human gastrointestinal and urinary systems, posing a serious threat to health. An adult can be poisoned by consuming 50 to 100 grams of fresh daylilies at one time.
To prevent poisoning from fresh daylilies, you can blanch the fresh daylilies in boiling water for a moment, then soak them in clean water to remove most of the water-soluble colchicine. Alternatively, the fresh daylilies can be cooked thoroughly before being prepared for consumption.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables include rapeseed, mustard greens, radishes, etc. Most of these vegetables contain glucosinolates, which are toxins that can inhibit human growth and development and cause goiter. The content of glucosinolates varies greatly among different vegetables or different parts of the same vegetable. If not handled properly, it can lead to an enlarged thyroid, metabolic disorders, poisoning symptoms, and even death.
So, how should these vegetables be handled? When cooking these vegetables, you can blanch them in boiling water before consumption.