Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis 水仙

POISONOUS PARTS

Whole plant, especially the bulbs.²

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Amaryllidaceae alkaloids such as lycorine , homolycorine, tazettine; calcium oxalate.³

• Toxic Dose

  A small portion of a bulb can be toxic.⁴

• Mechanism

  The exact mechanism for the major toxic features remains unidentified. Lycorine has emetic effect. Tazettine has mild hypotensive effect.^5,6

• Poisoning Features

  Contact dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness. Blurred vision, headache, sweating, perioral numbness, hypotension, convulsion and coma in severe cases.⁷

• Poisoning Events

  Multiple cases of Narcissus poisoning due to mixing up of its bulbs with onion, or its leaves with Chinese chives, have been reported worldwide. There was a fatal case reported in the United Kingdom in 1999 as a result of consumption of the bulbs. Similarly, 2 clusters of Narcissus poisoning due to accidental ingestion of the bulbs were reported in Hong Kong in 2014. They all recovered with supportive management.^4,8,9

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment.

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Perennial herbs; bulbs ovoid. Leaves 20–40 × 0.8–1.5 cm. Umbels 4–10-flowered, fragrant. Perianth salverform; segments 6, white, about 1.5 cm long, apex shortly acute, widely spreading. Corona pale yellow, shallowly cupular. Stamens 6, inserted at upper part of perianth tube; filaments very short. Style slender, stigma 3-lobed.¹⁰

MEDICINAL USES

Uses in TCM—flowers: dispel wind-dampness, clear the heart and quiet spirit, activate blood and regulate menstruation, remove toxin and repel foulness; bulbs (for external use only): clear heat and remove toxin, dissipate binds and disperse swelling. Recommended dose: flowers 9–15 g.^3,11,12

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Lycorine, homolycorine and tazettine can be detected by HPLC-DAD, GC-MS and LC-MS/MS.^13–15