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Munich (dpa / lby) - The cases of poisoning in Bavaria have increased - also because more people flock to nature in Corona times and collect plants for consumption.

Mixing up other plants with the popular wild garlic plays a particularly important role.

The Munich poison center recorded 75 and 93 cases respectively in the past two years - in contrast, in the months of February to April 2021 alone, there were already 67 cases, according to the Munich poison center.

For Florian Eyer, Head of the Poison Emergency Call and Clinical Toxicology at the Technical University of Munich, this is also related to people's urge to go outdoors in times of the corona pandemic.

For example, many took their children out in search of plants in nature.

But some do not have the necessary knowledge about poisonous plants, according to Eyer.

For a 48-year-old from the Freising district, this had fatal consequences at the end of April.

The man had prepared a sauce made of what he thought was wild garlic that he had collected himself.

He was taken to a clinic with nausea, where he died.

An expert opinion confirmed that he had eaten a highly poisonous autumn crocus.

According to the police, he only ate a few spoons of the sauce because it seemed bitter to him.

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The toxicologist Eyer also sees posts and recipes on social media as a further factor behind the increase in poisoning cases with plants. At the same time, people cook at home more often during the pandemic - and ingredients from nature are now increasingly being used.

The Bavarian Ministry of Health and the Munich Poison Control Center point out that colchicine, as it is contained in the leaves, bulbs, flowers and seeds of the autumn crocus, can be fatal even in small amounts.

The leaves of wild garlic and autumn crocus are very similar and often grow next to each other.

That's why there are often mix-ups, said Eyer.

Symptoms of poisoning are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

In worse cases, consumption of the poisonous plant could also lead to multiple organ failure and be fatal - as the case of the man from the Freising district shows.

The recommendation is therefore clear: if you don't know your way around, it is better not to collect plants to eat in nature.

In case of doubt, each leaf must be individually identified as wild garlic.

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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210509-99-525606 / 2

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