Carambola Neurotoxin

[phantomcrab]

I found this article today about a star fruit neurotoxin that's now identified:
http://phys.org/news/2013-11-sweet-poison-star-fruit-neurotoxin.html
Carambola poisoning has been previously reported:
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/starfruit.asp

[FlyingFoxFruits]

thanks phantomcrab

it was a provacative article...it has me thinking.


also, this study I found below has me thinking...the scientists failed to account for the fact that there are hundreds of varieties of carambola...and a plethora of ways to consume them. (juice, cooked, raw, ripe, green, etc).

I wonder how much the amount of caramboxin fluctuates when these variables are taken into account?
http://ckj.oxfordjournals.org/content/2/6/485.full.pdf

[fruitlovers]

Sorry to tell you but i think mango is a lot more dangerous to the average Joe or Jane than is starfruit. What about the urushiol in mango? Same substance as found in poison ivy. And i don't think it's stopping mango from being the #1 best selling tropical fruit world wide. I think it's great that doctors give this information about starfruit to people on dialysis, but why does everyone else have to keep hearing about it? 

[huertasurbanas]

I am growing it, a friend of Mar del Plata tried it and loved

[Cookie Monster]

thanks for the heads-up. if I get kidney disease, I'll chop down my carambola and plant a mango instead.