A man ended up in hospital after eating fried sponge gourd that had become bitter.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that the man, in his 50s, cooked the fried sponge gourd at home. While his family members thought it was too bitter and stopped eating, he continued to eat the dish. The man later suffered repeated diarrhea and vomiting.
The man sought medical treatment at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with cucurbitacin poisoning and was hospitalized, the report said.
The hospital’s clinical toxicologist Wu Ming-ling (吳明玲) was quoted in the report as saying that after ruling out pesticide poisoning, the patient had said “the sponge gourd tasted even more bitter than a bitter gourd,” which prompted the diagnosis as a rare case of cucurbitacin poisoning.
Wu said animal testing has shown that cucurbitacins — complex compounds found in plants belonging to cucumber family — can serve as an anti-inflammatory and protect the liver. It is also a strong digestive irritant and excessive intake can cause stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, physical weakness and dehydration.
Cucurbitacin E is a class of biochemical compounds that some plants, notably of the Cucurbitaceae family, including cucumbers, pumpkins and gourds, produce to protect the plant from herbivores.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital nephrologist Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海) said studies from other nations have shown that if a sponge gourd tastes bitter, its cucurbitacin concentration levels might have increased and eating it is likely to cause irritation to the stomach and intestines.
“Cucurbitacin is not found only in pumpkins or gourds, but also some other fruit, and cooking the plant does not decrease the curcubitacin levels,” he said. “It can still irritate the digestive system, and increased intestinal peristalsis can lead to diarrhea, or in serious cases, dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance.”
Doctors said people should avoid eating pumpkins, cucumbers and gourds that taste bitter to prevent illness.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS