"Sugarcane during Qingming Festival is more poisonous than snakes"! Sugarcane is suddenly inedible? Many people have misunderstood it.

Science Times reporter Wu Qiong

Sweet sugar cane is a popular fruit, but there is a saying among the people that "sugar cane during Qingming Festival is more poisonous than snakes." As Qingming Festival approaches, disease control centers in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan and other places have issued disease prevention tips to remind the public to prevent poisoning from moldy sugar cane. Is sugar cane really poisonous before and after Qingming Festival?

Sugarcane is prone to mildew around Qingming Festival

"'Sugarcane during Qingming Festival is more poisonous than snakes' does not actually mean that sugarcane during this period is poisonous, but that the temperature rises and precipitation increases, making sugarcane very easy to mold." Yu Liang, a national second-level nutritionist, said in an interview with a reporter from Popular Science Times that sugarcane generally matures around the Mid-Autumn Festival and is sold until the Qingming Festival of the following year. During this period, it is very easy to be attacked by Arthrocybe spp. and become moldy and deteriorate. In particular, the temperature continues to rise in spring, which is suitable for mold reproduction. Therefore, sugarcane poisoning incidents often occur from March to around Qingming Festival every year.

In other words, eating moldy sugarcane, whether it is around Qingming Festival or other seasons, will lead to poisoning. Yu Liang introduced that when sugarcane is contaminated by Arthritis spp., it will produce the toxin "3-nitropropionic acid", which can cause poisoning in humans at only 0.5 grams. The deeper the degree of mold in the sugarcane, the higher the toxin content, which is why the saying "more poisonous than snakes" was born.

Moldy sugarcane can cause severe poisoning and lead to death

The incubation period of moldy sugarcane poisoning is very short, and the disease usually occurs within a few minutes to a few hours. The symptoms mainly include gastrointestinal and nervous system disorders. Mild poisoning mainly manifests in the gastrointestinal tract, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. Severe poisoning will cause limb convulsions, and severe cases will also cause brain edema and pulmonary edema, which may lead to respiratory failure or even death.

There is currently no specific antidote for poisoning caused by eating moldy sugarcane. Yu Liang reminds everyone that if you accidentally eat moldy sugarcane and experience poisoning symptoms, you should immediately induce vomiting or diarrhea to expel the toxins as soon as possible; if the symptoms are severe, you need to seek medical attention immediately.

How to identify whether sugarcane is poisonous

Whether the sugarcane is moldy can be judged by its appearance, texture, smell, etc. Moldy sugarcane may have mold spots on the surface, and the texture is soft when pressed; the color is darker after cutting, the heart of the sugarcane is red or black, and there may even be hairy hyphae; it smells moldy or alcoholic.

"Many people think that it is okay to throw away the moldy part and eat the rest of the sugarcane. This is a big misunderstanding." Yu Liang emphasized that after the bacteria invade the sugarcane, the hyphae can extend. Even if the moldy part is cut off, the other parts may contain a large amount of toxins that are invisible to the naked eye. The public should not take this lightly.

In addition, you should also be careful of unscrupulous vendors who use moldy sugarcane to squeeze juice. It is best to choose merchants who pick and squeeze the sugarcane freshly and drink it within 2 hours.

It should be noted that since sugarcane contains high levels of sucrose, glucose, fructose and other sugars, even if it is not moldy, eating too much on an empty stomach may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. It is recommended that you eat sugarcane after meals and control the amount of consumption to reduce the risk of symptoms such as abdominal pain.