The symptoms experienced by Australians after eating contaminated leaves have chemical explanations
Delirium. Temperature. Hallucinations. Not what you expect when you add spinach to a salad, but these are among the alarming symptoms that dozens of Australians have experienced after consuming what it is believed to be contaminated lots of green leaves.
More than 100 people have reported symptoms, including at least 54 who have sought medical help after eating spinach from a batch authorities believe was contaminated. Four major supermarket chains have recalled products containing the suspected spinach in the country.
Authorities said the spinach caused “possible food-related toxic reactions”. Those affected show symptoms such as delirium, hallucinations, blurred vision, tachycardia and fever🇧🇷
Some Australians took to social media to jokingly ask how they could get hallucinogenic spinach. “I’ve never been this interested in salad,” said one Twitter user. But officials stressed that the symptoms were far from pleasant.
“They can’t see well; they’re confused; they’re hallucinating,” Darren Roberts, medical director of the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre, said of the victims in a local television interview. “And we’re talking scary hallucinations; it’s not funny at all.”
What could have caused the hallucinations?
The company that produces the spinach, Riviera Farms of the state of Victoria, said they believe it the product has been “contaminated by a weed”🇧🇷 But which herb could make spinach hallucinogenic?
The Victoria Department of Health said the symptoms suggested “anticholinergic syndrome”, a type of poisoning caused primarily by plants in the nightshade family, which includes nightshade, lemongrass and mandrake root.
Anticholinergic drugs and plants inhibit the production of a brain chemical called acetylcholineto which it is connected memoryto thought and the visual system, according to Dominic ffytche, professor of visual psychiatry at King’s College London, who specializes in visual hallucinations.
Acetylcholine can also be lost naturally and is linked to Alzheimerscertain types of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, the expert said.
types of hallucinations
Hallucinations caused by a suppression or loss of acetylcholine tend to be “graduate”, called ffytche – when they are concrete and recognizable, usually taking the form of people, objects and landscapes. This is different from hallucinations “unformed”where people can see shapes, patterns and colors.
Also, hallucinations caused by lack of acetylcholine are related to memory system, so they tend to involve people you already know or recognize, the expert said. “They could be deceased relatives or people who are vaguely familiar to them in some way.”
Those who experience more extreme symptoms may have difficulty determining what is real🇧🇷 “Once you lose the understanding that they are hallucinations, they tend to become distressing,” she added. “You get sucked into a story where something bad is happening and people are trying to hurt or harm you in some way.”
Exposure to anticholinergic plants can have serious effects, but is rarely fatal. It’s also relatively unusual: There were 856 cases of exposure in the United States in 2020, and none of them resulted in death, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
