Green Beans
Deadly Toxin: Saponin
Deadly Mechanism:
If green beans are not cooked thoroughly, the saponin in the beans can severely irritate the digestive tract. Additionally, the beans contain a凝血素 (coagulation factor), which has a blood-clotting effect.
Furthermore, green beans also contain nitrites and trypsin, which can irritate the human stomach and intestines, leading to food poisoning and symptoms of gastroenteritis.
Detoxification Method:
To prevent green bean poisoning, be sure to cook them thoroughly.
Broad Beans
Deadly Toxin: Vicine
Deadly Mechanism:
Broad bean seeds contain vicine. After consumption, this substance can cause acute hemolytic anemia (favism). Poisoning often occurs when eating green broad beans in the spring and summer if they are not cooked properly. Symptoms usually appear 4 to 24 hours after eating raw broad beans.
Detoxification Method:
To prevent broad bean poisoning, it is best not to eat fresh, tender broad beans, and they must be cooked thoroughly before consumption.
Uncooked Soy Milk
Deadly Toxin: Saponin
Deadly Mechanism:
Since raw soybeans also contain toxic components, drinking uncooked soy milk can also cause food poisoning. Especially when soy milk is heated to around 80°C, the saponin expands, causing foam to rise and 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 within 0.5 to 1 hour, primarily manifesting as gastroenteritis.
Detoxification Method:
To prevent poisoning from uncooked soy milk, after the "false boil" occurs during heating, continue to heat it to 100°C. Cooked soy milk has no foam, and the foam disappears.
Cassava
Deadly Toxin: Linamarin
Deadly Mechanism:
Although cassava roots are rich in starch, all parts of the plant, including the roots, stems, and leaves, contain toxic substances, and the fresh roots are particularly toxic. Therefore, caution must be taken when consuming cassava roots. The toxic substance in cassava is linamarin. Ingesting raw or uncooked cassava or its soup can cause poisoning. This is because linamarin or linamarase is hydrolyzed by gastric acid to produce free hydrogen cyanide, which poisons the human body. A person can be poisoned by eating 150-300 grams of raw cassava, which can even be fatal.
Detoxification Method:
To prevent cassava poisoning, peel the cassava and soak the flesh in water before consumption to dissolve the cyanogenic glycosides. Soaking for about 6 days can remove about 70% of the cyanogenic glycosides. After that, heat and cook it thoroughly before it can be eaten.