TOXIC FOODS.
Ptomaines and Toxins. The word ptomaine has been pretty generally abandoned as inapplicable to the toxic elements of decomposition it was in tended to represent. Although it im plies the presence of a poisonous prod uct, it is now known that many pto maines — cholin, neuridin, putrescin, etc., for instance — are not poisonous, though extracted from dead bodies. The term, therefore, fails to isolate the truly toxic products such as neurin, present in decomposing meat; pepto toxin, found in some peptones; mus cariu, found in the Amanita muscaria mushroom, the venom of snakes, etc.; and the term "toxin" has therefore been generally adopted to distinguish the lat ter group, just as it has to another group associated with the pathogenesis of vari ous affections, such as diphtheria, chol era, etc. Upon a special group of toxins, originating in the putrefaction of pro teid substances, through the metabolism of putrefactive bacteria of dead bodies, therefore, mainly depend the effects of toxic foods.
When these toxins (nitrogenous bases) are compared to alkaloids (vegetable bases), many of which, aconitine, coni ine, veratrum, etc., are well known to the practitioner, they may be said to be at least very similar, no reliable test, capable of distinguishing them as a group from these, having, as yet, been discovered. Indeed, toxins of putrefac tion have been taken for vegetable alka loids by expert toxicologists.
Emphasis laid upon the grave respon sibility attached to expert testimony and to the importance of noting the slightest deviation or departure from character istic reaction, and of guarding against every possible source of error or fallacy. In eases of poisoning ptomaines might be detected as vegetable alkaloids in the stomach-contents, and the vomit and post-mortem features may be corrobora tive. It is very possible that in such cases where the opportunity of detecting a powerful poison exists, according as circumstantial or collateral evidences present themselves, suspicion of murder ous intent may or may not be attached to any person or persons.
Delphinine is closely simulated by a ptomaine. Coniine also has a near rela tive in the products of cadaverie decom position. Tn the Krebs-l3rande case, at Braunschweig, in 1374, this alkaloid was found even in undecomposed parts of the body. Morphine has its animal homo
logue, which was mistaken for it in the Sonzogna trial at Cremona. Farquhar son (Jour. of State Med., Jan., '03).
The toxins begin to develop in the dead body about twenty-four hours after death when the latter is due to normal causes, though a diseased animal may show evidences of putrefaction much sooner. The putrefactive process con tinues until complete disintegration and chemical transformation of the organic tissues occur, one class of toxins being replaced by others which are frequently of greater toxicity. When a sufficiently active dose—less than one-hundredth of a minim in the case of some toxins— is introduced into the human organism through the agency of tainted or putrid foods, illness may prevail.
The likelihood of toxic symptoms de pends to a great degree upon the condi tion of the animal partaken of at the time of its death. Thus, spoiled or tainted veal, obtained from healthy ani mals, rarely gives rise to serious acci dents. But if, as is frequently the case, the animal, when slaughtered, suffered from pyEemic or septiemmic inflamma tory processes, or septic diarrhoea, grave symptoms may occur in the person par taking of it.
While many cases of poisoning may be attributed to toxins,—i.e., bacterial products,—living bacilli such as are ingested with contaminated water in the case of typhoid fever or cholera may also be productive of poisoning when food containing them is used. We have in the toxic oyster an example of food acting as the medium for the transporta tion of an infectious germ, though, in all probability, the mollusk itself is not diseased. When, going a step farther,we closely examine the clinical history of most cases of cholera morbus and com pare it to that of food poisoning, the re semblance is so great that we cannot but be led to conclude that in at least many cases of the former disorder we are in the presence of food infection, in an in dividual unduly susceptible, perhaps, to the micro-organism that may be present, or to its toxin. This would tend to sug gest that many more cases of food-in fection are met with, in practice, than is generally believed.