Acute poisoning in children from Jatropha curcas seeds

Abstract

Poisoning from plants is common in South Africa (SA). [1-5] Children are regularly exposed to toxic plants and usually poisoned when plants are mistaken for common, edible plants e.g., Jatropha curcas is often mistaken for nuts. [3-7] Similar cases have been reported in Thailand, India and Israel. [8-10] All of these studies show that children are more susceptible to J. curcas poisoning because of their highly curious nature, which often leads to ingestion of the seeds. There are fewer datasets on paediatric poisoning from developing countries than from developed countries, likely due to underreporting of cases and lack of proper data management systems. [11] This report deals with four cases of acute J. curcas poisoning in children in Limpopo Province, SA. The immature fruit is small, capsule-like, round and green and becomes dark brown as it matures (Fig. 1). Each fruit contains three black seeds resembling nuts, e.g. peanuts/cashew nuts, that have a sweet taste. [12] Four children aged between 2 and 6 years were playing close to an abandoned yard where the plant grew. A fruit-bearing branch of J. curcas was hanging over the fence and the children collected the fruit and ate the seeds. Shortly after ingesting the fruit, they developed abdominal pain and were rushed to hospital. The lag time before the onset of gastrointestinal (GI) complications varied between 90 and 120 minutes. The GI symptoms that developed included abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as a burning sensation in the throat. The patients were treated with intravenous hydration and anti emetic medication and the symptoms resolved within 12-14 hours. Three of the 4 children were observed for 24 hours and discharged the following day. The 2-year-old child was hospitalised for 7 days owing to prolonged diarrhoea. There is no specific antidote and the lethal dose in humans has not been established. [13]

Patterns of permit requests and issuance for regulated alien and invasive species in South Africa for the period 2015‐2018

“…Alien and invasive species (AIS) are any species whose establishment and spread outside of their natural distribution range threaten ecosystems, habitats or other species, or have demonstrable potential to threaten ecosystems, habitats or other species (Vilà et al, 2011). This may further result in economic or environmental harm or harm to human health (Gren, Isaacs, & Carlsson, 2009; Kenis & Branco, 2010; Moshobane, Wium, & Mokgola, 2017). Indeed, many alien and invasive species are known to be major contributors to economic loss in many countries due to the negative impacts they have on the environment (Gren et al, 2009; Kenis & Branco, 2010; Moshobane et al, 2017; Pimentel, Zuniga, & Morrison, 2005; Vilà et al, 2011; Sala et al 2009).…”

Organic amendment additions to cadmium-contaminated soils for phytostabilization of three bioenergy crops

“…Jatropha seeds were only found in the SBM and SLVC treatments. Seeds of jatropha are, incidentally, often reported to be toxic 26 . The bone meal in the SBM treatment constituted a suitable amendment for promoting growth until seed production.…”

Plants and mushrooms associated with animal poisoning incidents in South Africa

“…Indeed, poisoning is a global concern both in humans and animals. [19][20][21][22][23] Animal poisoning occurs as a result of exposure to various toxic substances 22 24-26 and episodes due to plant exposure are anything but rare. 21-23 27-29 Long-term retrospective studies have shown that plants cause major animal poisoning: for example in Germany data of the Poison Centres (2012-2014) showed that plants and mushrooms accounted for 18.6 per cent of all the enquiries on animal (dogs, cats, horses, ruminants, rabbits/rodents and birds) poisoning and, as for calls involving a known toxicant (n=1752), plant and mushroom intoxications were responsible for the highest number of fatal cases (25.7 per cent), whereas in Italy plants accounted for 5.5 per cent of all the enquiries on animal (dogs, cats, horses, ruminants, rabbits, ferrets and exotics) poisoning received by the Poison Control Centre of Milan (2000-2010).…”

“…The most worrying issue is the emerging impact on human health,15–18 mainly through skin exposure or ingestion leading to poisoning. Indeed, poisoning is a global concern both in humans and animals 19–23. Animal poisoning occurs as a result of exposure to various toxic substances22 24–26 and episodes due to plant exposure are anything but rare 21–23 27–29.…”

“…Previous studies conducted in South Africa focused on poisoning in humans, 19 20 38–40 and only a few studies specifically focused on human poisonings due to plant exposures. 19 38 Plant poisoning in South Africa has been described for horses and livestock, 41 42 but no report describing poisoning exposures in all types of animals at a country scale has previously been published. Therefore, the aim of this study was to retrospectively collect, evaluate and analyse reports on plant and mushroom poisoning in animals in South Africa.…”