A woman, 32, developed the symptoms of solanaceous alkaloid poisonin half an hour after consuming a broth prepared from 15 different traditional Chinese herbs she purchased from a shop owned by the Sun Chung Nam Medicine Company in Yuen Long. Using a recipe her friend gave her, she prepared the broth to help her with back pain and for general “health maintenance”.
The womn first sought medical help when she experienced dilated pupils, dry mouth, an abnormally high heart rate and the most uncomfortable-sounding condition of “acute retention of urine”, all symptoms of solanaceous alkaloid poisoning, according to the Centre for Health Protection (CHP). She was admitted to Pok Oi Hospital on Aug. 14 and stayed there for two days.
Both her urine and the broth she prepared tested positive for solanaceous alkaloids, which are potentially harmful chemicals produced by plants from the Solanaceae family. Plants from this family include potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines and bell peppers, but according to the CHP, none of the herbs she used could account for the presence of these chemicals. The investigation is ongoing.
Photo: a Chinese medicine shop in Tsim Sha Tsui (by mailer_diablo via Wikimedia)
