Acute Selenium Poisoning by Paradise Nuts (Lecythis Ollaria)

    January 2010 in “ Human & experimental toxicology ”
    Dieter Müller, Herbert Desel
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    TLDR Eating paradise nuts led to selenium poisoning, causing nausea, hair loss, and other symptoms in two women.
    Two women experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness, followed by significant hair loss and fingernail discoloration. Despite thorough diagnostic efforts, no abnormalities were found, and treatments had no effect. Tests for thallium and arsenic showed normal levels. However, blood tests conducted later showed toxic levels of selenium, with 479 μg/L in the first patient 8 weeks after ingestion and 300 μg/L in the second patient 9 weeks after ingestion. These symptoms were eventually linked to the consumption of paradise nuts, which are known to contain high levels of selenium.
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