Issue: 39 Page: 17
Case Report of Pokeweed Toxicity: Severe Gastrointestinal Upset May Affect Cardiac Activity.
HerbalGram. 1997; 39:17 American Botanical Council
Poisonings due to ingestion of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L., Phytolaccaceae) are not uncommon in the United States, where many people enjoy the young leaves of this plant as part of their diet. Symptoms usually include "self-limited but severe gastroenteritis characterized by intense vomiting and frothy diarrhea." Although no cardiotoxin has been identified in pokeweed, three case reports of cardiotoxicity due to pokeweed poisoning exist. The following case report may provide further insight into the question of pokeweed's cardiotoxicity.Case report 4 involves a 46-year-old male who, together with his wife, experienced nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after eating a few uncooked pokeweed leaves and then some twice-boiled pokeweed greens. His mother-in-law, who had eaten only the cooked greens, experienced no symptoms of poisoning. The male, who denied a prior history of cardiac disease, was found, upon further examination in the hospital, to have suffered a Type I Mobitz heart block, a temporary condition requiring no treatment, which may occur after a mild heart attack. He was discharged from the hospital symptom-free after 36 hours. It is possible that "the intense nausea, vomiting and intestinal colic that resulted from the pokeweed ingestion may have had a prolonged parasympathetic effect" on the male patient's heart. Once the gastrointestinal symptoms were alleviated with medication, the heart block resolved itself. It is therefore unlikely that a cardiotoxin was responsible for the toxicity. [Hamilton, R. J., R. D. Shih, and R. S. Hoffman. Mobitz Type I Heart Block. Pokeweed Ingestion. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, February 1995, 37(1):66-67.] Article copyright American Botanical Council. ~~~~~~~~ By Ginger Webb
|