POISONING: CASTOR OIL BEANS CAUSE DEATH
Not long ago, a Bulgarian political refugee in London died three days after a mysterious stranger jabbed him in the leg with a sharpened umbrella tip. Autopsy revealed a minute hollow pellet deep in his wound that, it was believed, contained a fatal poison.
From the nature of his slow death, it was determined that this substance was ricin, an intensely toxic substance (more poisonous than snake venom) present in the castor oil bean. It is not present in castor oil but remains in the bean “cake” after the oil has been extracted. The cake can be rendered safe for human consumption by cooking and is used as staple food in several parts of the world, including Mexico.
Mexicans and Caribbean islanders employ the attractive looking castor oil bean to make necklaces and other jewelry for the tourist trade. According to Toxicology, there have been serious reactions and deaths when people have eaten one of these beans or have merely crushed one in their fingers and subsequently put their fingers in their mouths. Ricin causes drastic purging with bloody diarrhea, shivering, fever, violent vomiting, and shock. Even a minute trace in a scratch can be fatal. So, when shopping abroad for trinkets, avoid buying castor oil bean jewelry.
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