Saturday, October 13, 2007 ‘The Deadly Catch’ By Dr. Elizabeth Bagares-Poyogao
A FEW days ago, a group of students were rushed to the hospital due to vomiting and abdominal pain brought about by the ingestion of a nut called "tuba-tuba."
"Jatropha curcas" is the scientific name of "tuba-tuba." Others call it the "black vomit nut" or "purging nut tree" to name a few. This plant usually grows in small towns as a fence.
Hence the name tubang bakod, tuba being a name given to many plants of this family used for poisoning fish, and bakod, the Tagalog word for fence. It is a very common plant found almost all over the Philippines and it is found to be attractive to children.
It has a greenish bark, dark green leaves and yellow to greenish flowers. The fruit is dark brown with seeds that has a very pleasant taste like that of a "pili" nut. It has been reported that the seed contains phytotoxins called "Toxalbumin crucin" which explains the poisonous nature of the plant.
Ingestion of 1-3 seeds usually produce toxic signs and symptoms related to gastro-intestinal irritation which occurs one or more hours after ingestion of the seeds. There is usually abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting with diarrhea leading to dehydration or in severe cases, death.
In mild cases, the course of the illness lasts for not more than 24 hours. Ideally, the child is observed for 8 hours from the time of ingestion of the seeds. The toxin mostly affects the gastro-intestinal tract, liver and kidneys.
How do we treat this kind of food poisoning? There is no definite cure for "tuba-tuba" poisoning.
Treatment is mainly supportive and symptomatic. Within 1-2 hours after ingestion, it is very important to induce vomiting or you may do gastric lavage.
Fluid replacement is very crucial to combat dehydration due to diarrhea and vomiting to prevent death. It is also important to monitor the child's serum electrolytes, the liver and renal function tests. The goal of treatment is proper hydration or well-established fluid replacement. Proper, thorough observation of the child's physical status is crucial.
Prevention is the key for every food poisoning. It is important to be aware of what your child eats. It is very important that parents and children are aware of the kind of foods that are poisonous or not.
Otherwise, problem arises.
Looking back, all the children recovered from the acute poisoning after 24 hours of hydration and observation and were discharged, improved from the said hospital. Luckily, they survived this ordeal and vowed never to eat the same seed again.
(Dr. Betty Bagares-Poyogao is based in Oro Doctors General Hospital, St. Ignatius Medical Clinic, and JR Borja General Hospital. For your questions, comments, and suggestions email me at betbags@yahoo.com.)
