Recently, Nanjing Gulou Hospital received an aunt Zhong from Fujian, who began to experience abdominal distension and discomfort more than a month ago, and her abdomen was getting bigger and bigger. During the treatment, the doctor found that Aunt Zhong used the plant "a little red" to boil water and drink. In this regard, the doctor reminded that some plants are soaked in a large amount of water for a long time, not only can not maintain health, but also seriously threaten health, and even endanger life.

A little red bubble "herbal tea" causes bloating like a drum

At the beginning of the illness, Aunt Zhong was treated in the interventional department of the local hospital, and after her examination, it showed liver enlargement, abnormal liver function, and a large amount of ascites, and further interventional examination during hospitalization ruled out "Budd-Chia syndrome" and "liver cirrhosis", but the diagnosis was delayed. Aunt Zhong searched on the Internet and learned that Professor Zhuge Yuzheng's team of the Department of Gastroenterology of Nanjing Gulou Hospital had rich experience in the treatment of her such diseases, so she was referred to Gulou Hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.

After questioning by the medical team, it was learned that Aunt Zhong had been plagued by chronic pharyngitis for many years, and before the Spring Festival in 2023, she returned to her hometown in Fujian and heard relatives say that "a little red" can clear heat and detoxify, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and has a good therapeutic effect on chronic laryngitis. So she found a "little red" rhizome from a neighbor's house, sliced and boiled water, and drank it as "herbal tea" every day, and after drinking for a month, she began to have abdominal distention, fatigue and other uncomfortable symptoms, and the examination found abnormal transaminases, jaundice, and ascites. Combined with imaging tests, Aunt Zhong's liver showed typical "map" changes, and Zhuge Yuzheng and his team quickly diagnosed Aunt Zhong due to excessive consumption of a little red caused by hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome. After the operation, Aunt Zhong's abdominal distension was significantly improved, and her liver function basically returned to normal.

Sinus obstruction syndrome is drug-induced hepatic sinus/hepatic venulous endothelial cell damage, resulting in acute or subacute liver injury and acute portal hypertension.

It is medicinal and toxic, and it should be consumed with caution

"A little red" is very common in rural areas, and it is an annual herb of the Asteraceae family. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that a little red flat, bitter taste, slightly spicy, cool blood detoxification, in the treatment of urinary system infections, laryngitis, poisonous sores and other diseases, play a good medicinal effect.

However, although "a little red" can clear heat and detoxify, it is also really toxic. The main chemical components of "a little red" are alkaloids, flavonoids, volatile oils and other compounds, including pyrrolizidine toxic alkaloids, which are the culprits that cause liver damage and thus a large amount of ascites. When it reacts with cellular metabolites, and even with DNA and proteins, it is highly cytotoxic and even carries the risk of carcinogenesis.

It should be noted that the clairvoyant and Zeeland families of the comfrey family, the Asteraceae family, and the genus Pig poop beans of the legume family are all common distribution plants of pyrrolidine alkaloids. The poisoning of Tusanchi that has often been reported before is a similar situation. Experts caution against eating plants from these taxa mentioned above.

The reporter learned that the Department of Gastroenterology of Nanjing Gulou Hospital receives dozens of patients with sinus obstruction syndrome caused by mistaking various plants every year, and has formulated the world's first expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome. The research of Professor Zhuge Yuzheng's team for many years has found that about 60%~70% of hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome can be improved by conservative treatment such as anticoagulation and diuresis, and 80%~90% of patients who cannot be improved by conservative treatment can be relieved through interventional TIPS.

Correspondent Xu Hui

Yangtze Evening News/Purple Cow News reporter Lu Yanlin