Doctors warn that the eggplant, or the trumpet tree, is highly poisonous and severely harmful to the nervous system and heart. It should not be eaten after a Maha Sarakham villager boiled it and gave it to her husband to drink in the hopes that he would quit drinking.
In the case of Mahasarakham Hospital receiving a patient who drank the juice of the crazy eggplant and became ill to the point that his relatives had to take him to the hospital, reporters went to Moo 5, Nong Kha, Tha Tum Subdistrict, Mueang Mahasarakham District to ask Mrs. Ratree, Mr. Thongdaeng’s wife, who said that she brought the pot in which the trumpet tree, or locally called it, crazy eggplant, to show her after a neighbor brought it to her, saying that if she boiled the crazy eggplant for her husband to drink, he would stop drinking alcohol. So she boiled two and gave them to her husband to drink, hoping that he would quit drinking. However, after her husband drank the boiled crazy eggplant in the morning, in the afternoon he became u
nconscious and had to be sent to the hospital.
Dr. Wattana Sriwattana, Deputy Director of Maha Sarakham Provincial Public Health Office, warns people to be careful of the poisonous daffodils (crazy eggplant). They are perennial herbaceous plants that grow 1-2 meters tall and have purple branches. They cause severe damage to the nervous system and heart. They should not be eaten and children or pets should be kept away from them. If poisoned, go to the hospital immediately. Although daffodils are normally a medicinal plant, the leaves can be ground and applied to prevent skin diseases. If you want to use herbs to quit drinking, you should use Thang Chuet.
As for the symptoms of poisoning from eating the trumpet tree, they include dry mouth, dry throat, dilated pupils, photophobia, abnormally fast heartbeat, restlessness, confusion, or hallucinations. The patient’s symptoms are now improving and he is expected to return home this evening.
Source: Thai News Agency