earticle

영어

Phytolacca has been used as food and folk medicines for rheumatism and arthritis in America and East Asia. All parts of it can be considered toxic unless it is properly prepared. Some acute intoxication cases occurred by taking Phytolacca without proper treatment, or accidently misusing it as edible roots. Poisoning by Phytolacca can cause minor digestive trouble such as vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. But in some cases, it can result serious symptoms like seizures, acute kidney failure and even death. The roots of Phytolacca are similar to other edible roots, so they can be mistakenly ingested. In this study, we presented a fatal post-mortem intoxication case of Phytolacca poisoning. The heart and peripheral blood, gastric contents were collected from autopsy, and the ingested plant roots from the scene submitted for toxicological analysis. The detection of triterpenoid saponins in biological samples and plant materials were performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The concentrations of esculentoside A in the heart and peripheral blood were 37 ng/mL and 27 ng/mL, respectively, while those of esculentoside H were 3 ng/mL and 1 ng/mL, respectively.