Most commonly plant exposures and intoxications from outdoor toxic plants

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been an increased recognition of the importance of wild plant used as food and as source of micronutrients and plant secondary metabolites. Non-cultivated plants are perceived as important and healthy food, because many adults are often unaware of the toxicity of certain plants, or may consume them as a results of mistaking them for alternative herbs. The Poison Centre of Milan does issue an annual report that includes all the analyzed exposures and intoxications. The genera and plant species described in this paper are related to the high frequency of exposures or intoxications registered, and they are related to the survey of the 1995-2007 period. After examining all the data and consulting with the botanic experts, it is possible to affirm that picking an wild edible plant versus a poisonous one is serious business. In order to avoid some mistakes, a morphological comparison of edible plant species [that people would like to use as food] versus toxic plants which produced the poisoning, was summarized.