Govt Warns Against Thorn Apple Trend

Govt warns against thorn apple trend

BANGKOK: -- Young people who take concoctions made from thorn apples in the hope of boosting their intelligence are more likely to end up endangering their lives, the Director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, Dr. Kumnuan Ungchusak, warned yesterday.

Dr. Kumnuan was speaking in response to the hospitalization of eight young novice monks in Thailand's north-eastern province of Roi Et who had drunk a brew made from boiled thorn apple (D. metel Linn) in the belief that it might help them with their studies.

An investigation has revealed that on the night of 18 January, 12 young novice monks boiled a concoction from five dried thorn apples.

Only thirty minutes after ingesting the potion, the monks felt confused and dizzy and their vision had become blurred.

Soon they were hallucinating and delirious, and were constantly standing up, sitting down and running around for no reason.

Others were said to have experienced nausea and vomiting.

Once in hospital, the novices were found to have symptoms ranging from dilated pupils to unusually fast heartbeats, fever, high blood pressure and breathing difficulties.

Dr. Kumnuan noted that thorn apples are packed with alkaloid poisons which work to stimulate the central nervous system.

Although the symptoms of eating the fruit, known in Thai appropriately as 'Crazy Eggplant', normally disappear within 2-3 days, he warned that consumption of thorn apples could be life threatening.

--TNA 2005-02-16