From the Medicolegal Department, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima University Hospital, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tangier.
Medico-legal Institute, Ibn Rochd University Hospital, Hassan II University, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Casablanca.
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2021 Sep 1;42(3):278-281. doi: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000633.
Atractylis gummifera L. is a poisonous thistle plant that grows in the Mediterranean regions especially in northern Africa like Morocco and southern Europe. It has been used frequently to treat some diseases in traditional medicine, and its ingestion is a common cause of fatal poisoning. Here, we report 3 death cases in children after accidental ingestion of the Atractylis gummifer L.
We report 3 cases of death in children after accidental ingestion of the poisonous plant Atractylis gummifer L. The poisoned children were admitted to hospital in deteriorated general state with clinical symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, epigastric, and abdominal pain, diarrhea, followed by coma. However, they died a few hours later. The postmortem investigations were performed, and the diagnosis of Atractylis gummifer L. poisoning was confirmed by toxicological examination (chromatography), the latter showed the presence of atractyloside (potassium atractylate), a toxic compound of the plant Atractylis gummifera L.Atractylis gummifer L. poisoning was discussed with review through the literature.
Through the presented cases, we show that Atractylis gummifera L. poisoning remains a health problem that involves children in Morocco, where the plant grows spontaneously. Thus, teaching children to recognize dangerous plants will be helpful to prevent accidental ingestion.
胶状橐吾（Atractylis gummifera L.）是一种生长在地中海地区的有毒蓟类植物，尤其在摩洛哥等北非国家和南欧地区较为常见。在传统医学中，胶状橐吾常被用于治疗某些疾病，但其食用却是导致致命中毒的常见原因。在此，我们报告了 3 例儿童因意外摄入胶状橐吾而中毒致死的病例。
我们报告了 3 例儿童因意外摄入有毒植物胶状橐吾而中毒致死的病例。这些中毒的儿童入院时病情恶化，出现恶心、呕吐、上腹痛、腹泻、随后昏迷等临床症状。但他们在几小时后死亡。进行了尸检调查，通过毒理学检查（色谱法）确认了胶状橐吾中毒的诊断，后者显示存在苍术苷（苍术酸钾），这是胶状橐吾植物的一种有毒化合物。通过文献回顾讨论了胶状橐吾中毒的问题。
通过所呈现的病例，我们表明胶状橐吾中毒仍然是摩洛哥儿童面临的一个健康问题，因为这种植物在当地自然生长。因此，教导儿童识别危险植物将有助于预防意外摄入。
