Toxic bitter substances Vegetables from the home garden can be toxic

When vegetables from your own garden become toxic
Who grows vegetables, must pay attention to whether it contains poisonous bitter substances. Only recently did we report that an elderly lady almost died of these toxic substances in a zucchini. Many consumers are therefore unsure. The poison emergency call in Munich and experts therefore give useful advice.

Vegetables from the garden are usually delicious - but can be dangerous at times. This shows a current case from Schleswig-Holstein. For example, a 78-year-old woman from Rendsburg had a self-grown zucchini for severe poisoning and a three-day hospital stay.

Zucchini are basically healthy, but bitter substances can be dangerous. Image: barmalini - fotolia

The person concerned had received the vegetables accordingly. It came from the garden of a friend's brother and was grown 100 percent organically. Two of the zucchini ate the lady without problems, but the third led to poisoning and caused massive discomfort. Elke Frahm had cut these into small pieces for a soup and noticed a bitter taste when tasting them. This remained even after peeling: "When I tried a piece again, it still tasted exceptionally bitter," said the 78-year-old.

Reactivation of bitter substances by stress
Cucurbitacin is made from cucurbits such as zucchini, cucumbers or melons to protect its fruits. The ability to form these substances was actually bred out of the crops. However, the plant stands e.g. Due to prolonged heat under stress, it may be that the substances are reactivated. Likewise, the poison may arise when seed with backcrosses containing the bitter substances is used. In 2015, there had been a death from poisonous zucchini from the garden. At that time, a 79-year-old retiree from Baden-Württemberg had died.

Expert Tip: Follow your own taste
Protection against poisoning offers a simple taste test before preparing the vegetables. If it tastes bitter, it should be spat out immediately and the affected vegetables are not used, informs the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). However, a prerequisite for this is a functioning sense of taste. People who are restricted here should ask for help from other people. Professor Eyer of the Giftnotdruf in Munich also gives a simple rule: "Man is himself the best bio-indicator. If you're eating something and there's a noticeably bitter taste, then keep your fingers off - let it go! "(Sb)