As temperatures rise across southern China, Guangdong's health authorities have issued a public advisory cautioning local residents against consuming certain fruits and vegetables that taste unusually bitter. The warning was rolled out after an incident in Hangzhou, where an elderly couple was hospitalized after eating a bitter bottle gourd.
The septuagenarian pair suffered from nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and watery diarrhea shortly after consuming the vegetable. Doctors diagnosed cucurbitacin poisoning and noted the couple kept eating the bitter bottle gourd in the mistaken belief it offered health benefits. Medical staff cautioned that all bitter-tasting gourds, loofahs, and cucumbers should be thrown away at once.
Cucurbitacin, a toxin generated in certain cucurbit crops under heat, drought, or genetic stress, cannot be destroyed by boiling or frying. It triggers severe gastrointestinal irritation and may lead to organ damage in severe cases, for which no specific antidote is available.
Five bitter vegetables or nuts that stay toxic when cooked
1. Bitter loofah
Ordinary loofah is edible, but a bitter one may contain heat-resistant cucurbitacin alkaloids. Possible symptoms include dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and, in severe cases, bloody diarrhea and dehydration.
2. Sprouted or green potatoes
Potatoes that have turned green or sprouted contain excessive solanine. Eating such potatoes may result in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and breathing difficulties.
3. Bitter ginkgo nuts
Ginkgo seeds contain ginkgolic acid and other heat-resistant toxic substances. Improperly processed ginkgo remains poisonous even after cooking. Consumers should only buy commercially prepared products from formal merchants and never eat them raw.
4. Rancid or moldy nuts
Rancid or moldy nuts contain aflatoxin, a group 1 carcinogen more toxic than arsenic. Aflatoxin cannot be broken down below 280°C.
5. Wild bitter almonds
Bitter almonds contain amygdalin, which breaks down into toxic hydrogen cyanide inside the human body. Ingesting 20 to 60 seeds may lead to acute poisoning.
The following should also be avoided
1. Partially rotten fruits and vegetables
Cutting off rotten parts cannot ensure the rest are safe for consumption. For instance, spoiled ginger produces safrole, which can damage liver cells even at tiny doses.
2. Red-streaked sugarcane
Red discoloration indicates fungal spoilage and possible formation of 3-nitropropionic acid, a neurotoxin that can cause respiratory failure. The sugarcane stalk should be discarded entirely.
3. Dead crabs
Bacteria multiply rapidly in dead crabs, producing heat-resistant histamines after decomposition. Symptoms include skin rashes, itchiness, dyspnea, and even fatal anaphylactic shock.
4. Over-soaked wood ear mushrooms
Extended soaking can produce bongkrekic acid, a heat-stable toxin that can cause multiple organ failure and cannot be destroyed by high-temperature cooking.
5. Black-spotted sweet potatoes
Black spots mean the sweet potato has generated hepatotoxic ipomeamarone and ipomeanine, toxins that damage the liver and can cause vomiting, fever, and hemorrhage.
Author | Feng Huiting
Photo | Xinhua
