Ten people,
belonging to different families, were left intoxicated after consuming mandrake in the Phlegraean municipalities.
People are hospitalized in the Pozzuoli hospital.
One is on a reserved prognosis.
This is the balance drawn up at the moment by the Asl Napoli 2 Nord.
Hallucinations and gastrointestinal problems the symptoms noted.
The ASL itself has alerted the emergency room in the area for any arrivals of other intoxicated people.
Its prevention technicians are around with Nas and the Carabinieri of Pozzuoli for possible withdrawals of vegetables as a precaution.
The one seized so far is loose vegetables, so there were no problems for the packaged one.
The plant of the 'witches', as in Potter
The mandrake plant is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean.
All its parts are potentially dangerous due to the presence of substances with hallucinogenic properties.
"The pharmacological properties of the plant - write the authors of the chapter dedicated to the plant in the book Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse - were known since ancient times. All its parts are poisonous and contain alkaloids such as scopolamine, atropine and hyoscine. The plant was used for soothing, analgesic, anesthetic and aphrodisiac purposes, but also for hallucinogenic properties. There are several reports of accidental poisoning due to its great similarity with other common and edible plants, such as some types of lettuce, or for the consumption by children of its berries ".
Mandrake is a perennial herb of the Solanaceae family with pale blue flowers, yellow fruits, oblong oval leaves and thick, fleshy and often forked roots, which according to legends resemble human faces and where dangerous substances are most concentrated .
Symptoms range from nausea, vomiting, intestinal problems, dry mouth and difficulty in urinating due to light poisoning to hallucinations, delirium and tachycardia, although deaths from suspected poisoning are also reported.
There are many references to this plant even in 'unscientific' literature, with a series of legends related to its use, for example by witches.
The main one is probably the one that states that once torn from the ground the mandrake emits a 'scream'
