Plant Talk: Star Fruit Poisoning

You'd probably heard of food poisoning or carbon monoxide poisoning but this is star fruit poisoning. Symptoms include hiccups, numbness, weakness, feeling confused and agitation. Someone, in fact, had said that more than 10 people in Shenzhen, China had died after consuming star fruits and a 66-year-old Malaysian with a kidney ailment was said to have fallen into a coma after eating them. A Universiti Malaya Medical Centre consultant nephrologist purportedly said that star fruits contain a neurotoxin that affects the brain and nerves. In healthy persons, the kidneys filter the neurotoxin out but for people with kidney problems, the toxin cannot be removed and could worsen the person's condition and could even bring about death.  You'd probably find stories on such delicious fruits like star fruits a bit too hard to swallow! 

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