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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

POTATOES GIVE OFF LETHAL GAS

Russian girl, 8, orphaned after her entire family is wiped out by deadly gas caused by rotting potatoes in the cellar.

  • Girl lost her father, mother, brother and grandmother within minutes of each other going down into the cellar at the family home
  • Police say they were poisoned by toxic fumes from rotten potatoes

  • Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, of which the most prevalent are solanine and chaconine. 
     
    Solanine is also found in other plants in the family Solanaceae, which includes such plants as the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) and tobacco (Nicotiana) as well as the potato, eggplant, and tomato. 
     
    This toxin affects the nervous system, causing weakness and confusion.
    These compounds are generally concentrated in its leaves, stems, sprouts, and fruits.

    Exposure to light, physical damage, and age increase glycoalkaloid content within the tuber; the highest concentrations occur just underneath the skin.

    Cooking partly destroys them. The concentration of glycoalkaloid in wild potatoes suffices to produce toxic effects in humans.

    Glycoalkaloids may cause headaches, diarrhea, cramps, and in severe cases coma and death; however, poisoning from potatoes occurs very rarely.

    The U.S. National Toxicology Program suggests that the average American consumes at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes (the toxic dose is several times this, depending on body weight).

    Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2409920/Russian-girl-8--orphaned-ENTIRE-family-wiped-deadly-gas-caused-rotting-potatoes-cellar.html


    Food related -

    Woman gets infected with flesh eating disease after being clawed by a live crab while preparing to cook it.
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/08/woman-caught-flesh-eating-disease-from.html


    Link to this post -
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/09/potatoes-give-off-lethal-gas.html

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