Potential toxicity of wild Ipomoea ingested by schoolchildren in remote Northeastern Thailand

Abstract

Background: Natural plant toxins can cause food poisoning upon intentional or unintentional consumption of wild plants. Some toxic wild plants can be mistaken for edible species because of their morphological resemblance. This study examined a poisoning case report of schoolchildren who consumed a steamed tuberous root of wild Ipomoea, misidentified as I. mauritiana, and experienced gastrointestinal toxicity. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the tuberous root of wild Ipomoea using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a DNA barcode and characterize compounds obtained using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Materials and methods: DNA was extracted from fresh and cooked samples of the storage root. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the entire ITS region were performed. FastTree and maximum likelihood analyses were used to obtain phylogenetic trees of the Ipomoea species. Root extracts were prepared for GC-MS analysis, and potentially harmful phytochemicals responsible for poisonous plant exposure were predicted based on a well-established plant toxin database. Results: ITS phylogeny showed a close relationship between wild toxic Ipomoea and edible I. mauritiana. The chemometric profile obtained from GC-MS analysis of the root extracts revealed the presence of 31 phytochemicals. Among them, two putatively toxic compounds identified were β-amyrin and coumarin. Conclusion: Misidentification of the wild poisonous plant reported herein resulted in toxic plant ingestion. Although most poisonous plant exposures are not life threatening, measures should be taken to ensure the safety of the general public.