How much Nuzhenzi (Horse Chestnut Seeds) is lethal to humans?
Horse chestnut is a type of traditional Chinese medicine, and it is crucial to exercise caution when using it due to its high toxicity. If ingested accidentally, it can pose significant harm to humans and even pose a grave threat to life safety. Overdosage of horse chestnut can lead to poisoning symptoms such as headache, stiffness of muscles throughout the body, asphyxia, and neural paralysis. So, how much horse chestnut can be fatal? Let's explore this matter.
The toxic component of horse chestnut is strychnine. The toxicity level differs between raw and processed horse chestnuts. Experiments have shown that the content of strychnine in raw horse chestnuts is 2.5%, while it reduces to 0.18% after frying to the point of charring. The poisonous dose of excessive horse chestnut ingestion ranges from 1.5 to 3 grams, and the fatal dose exceeds 4 to 12 grams.
The symptoms of poisoning are primarily caused by the effect of horse chestnut on the spinal cord. Early symptoms include headache, dizziness, anxiety, respiratory enhancement, stiffness of facial and neck muscles, and general muscular tension. Subsequently, there may be high reflex excitability, paroxysmal tonic convulsions, opisthotonus, lockjaw, spasmodic laughter, clenched fists, and respiratory muscle spasms leading to asphyxia. These symptoms can be exacerbated by light and sound stimuli. After the excitement phase, paralysis occurs, ultimately leading to death due to asphyxia or respiratory paralysis.
1. Provide oxygen and avoid external stimuli such as light and sound that may trigger reflex convulsions.
2. Control convulsions by administering intravenous pentobarbital or amytal sodium (0.3-0.5 grams) or diazepam (10-20 milligrams). Other options include the use of chloral hydrate or ether.
3. After controlling convulsions, if there are still toxic substances in the stomach, perform gastric lavage with a 1:2000 potassium permanganate solution or a 1-2% tannic acid solution.
4. For mild poisoning with symptoms such as dizziness, numbness in the shoulders and back, and muscular tension in the waist and back, encourage the individual to drink plenty of water or take licorice decoction.
