Children more sensitive to jatropha poisoning: study

Commonly known as Ratanjyot or Jungli erandi,jatropha is an evergreen plant found throughout India,especially in southern parts. Traditionally it has been used for medicinal purposes,but in recent times,it is being promoted as bio-diesel fuel. Now,cases of jatropha poisoning have been reported from different parts of India due to ingestion of the seeds of this plant. Children are particularly susceptible to it,the researchers said and have presented four children with jatropha poisoning.

Four children (age group of 5-8 years) were brought to accident and emergency department with complaints of repeated vomiting and abdominal pain. One of the affected children had diarrhoea. One of them had constricted pupils raising a doubt of organophosphorus poisoning. The children pointed out that they had consumed some black coloured jatropha curcas seeds that were growing around the school premises.

The children were curious as the seeds had a sweet taste so they ate it. The lag period before onset of symptoms varied between one to two hours.

The jatropha seeds are touted as a treatment of cold sweats,colic,cramps and constipation in villages. Jatropha seed oil is currently being tried as biofuel. However,despite its medicinal uses,the plant is harmful due to presence of toxalbumin called curcin,ricin and cyanic acid,related to ricinoleic acid. Ricin has been shown to exhibit many cardiotoxic and haemolytic effects,the researchers pointed out.

The adverse effects following consumption of seeds include vomiting,diarrhoea,abdominal pain and burning sensation in the throat. Vomiting and diarrhoea can set in within fifteen minutes of consumption. Acute abdominal pain is experienced about half an hour after the ingestion of the seeds. Although the available literature is scarce,but all the jatropha poisoning victims reported so far have been in the paediatric age group and were presented with gastrointestinal manifestations.

Eating huge quantities of any raw part may cause slow damage to kidneys. Though it is commonly believed that roasting detoxifies the seeds but catastrophes have been reported even after eating roasted seeds. Treatment is essentially symptomatic and supportive,say researchers