Case report: a rare case of attempted homicide with Gloriosa superba seeds.

BACKGROUND: Gloriosa superba, well known as the glory lily or superb lily, is a tropical climbing plant that features an exotic red flower. The plant is poisonous because of high concentrations of colchicine in all parts of the plant. It is commercially grown for use in Ayurveda medicine and as a cash crop for extracting colchicine in India and Africa. It is a wild plant in Sri Lanka and commercial cultivation is rare. Accidental and suicidal poisonings with Gloriosa tubers are well known and reported. There are no case reports of poisoning by Gloriosa seeds in Sri Lanka. Google and PubMed searches showed no reported cases of poisoning with seeds or their use with homicidal intent in other parts of the world. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27-year-old man was brought to hospital with profuse vomiting and diarrhea after drinking coriander tea, which is a common traditional treatment for common cold. The family members suspected poisoning by Gloriosa because they had seeds at home and the victim's sister-in-law who had made the herbal tea went missing from home. They were able to identify Gloriosa seeds, which looked similar to coriander, in the pot. The patient developed shock and respiratory distress and needed ventilation and intensive care. He also developed mild renal impairment, and thrombocytopenia. He developed massive generalized alopecia while recovering from acute illness. Full recovery was achieved after 15 days of hospital care. CONCLUSIONS: There are many poisonous plants in Asian countries. This case highlights the possibility of accidental or intentional use of Gloriosa seeds or its extracts to cause potentially fatal poisoning. It would be difficult to identify Gloriosa as the cause of poisoning without any background information because of multiple complications that can mimic a systemic infection. This case is a good example of the use of plants as biological weapons.

[Case of colchicine intoxication caused by tubers of Gloriosa superba].

Gloriosa superba is one of the poisonous plants growing in Japan. It contains potent alkaloid such as colchicine which binds to tubulin and prevents it from forming microtubules that are part of the cytoskeleton in human cells. Ingestion of Gloriosa superba tubers causes severe and potentially fatal toxic effects. We report here a case of colchicine intoxication caused by tubers of Gloriosa superba. A 58-year-old male ingested about 25 g of Gloriosa superba tubers by mistake. He believed that it was wild yam. He developed abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea 30 minutes after the ingestion of the plant. Forty five hours later he was taken to the emergency department. Unfortunately he died due to progressive multiple organ failure about one hour after the admission. It was two days after Gloriosa superba ingestion. The clinical features and the aspect of the poisonous plants should be acquainted with people.

A retrospective study of daylily toxicosis in cats.

The Easter, Japanese, stargazer and tiger lilies (Lilium sp) are nephrotoxic to cats. This study examined risks posed to cats by the common daylily (Hemerocallis sp: H. dumortierei, H. fulvi, H. graminea, H. seiboldii) following ingestion. Records describing ingestion of Hemerocallis sp between January 1998 and June 2002 were reviewed for signalment, quantity ingested, clinical signs (onset, severity, duration), treatments administered, and outcome. Twenty-two cases of confirmed exposure resulting in toxicosis were evaluated. Cats that ingest daylilies are at risk for gastrointestinal distress and acute renal failure. Successful treatment can be accomplished with early decontamination and aggressive fluid therapy.