Sugar cane juice is not poisonous, but it cannot be eaten if it becomes moldy and turns black. People who eat moldy sugarcane juice will be poisoned, with symptoms such as red face, dizziness and nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, black eyes or double vision. In severe cases, death can occur.

Moldy sugarcane generally has an abnormal glossy appearance, soft texture, and sharp tips; after being cut, the cross section becomes light yellow, tan, or gray-black, with a loose structure, and an obvious sour musty or distiller's lees smell. Slightly spicy. Moldy sugarcane poisoning refers to acute food poisoning caused by eating moldy sugarcane that has been improperly preserved. It often occurs in early spring in northern my country.

(1) Toxic ingredients and poisoning mechanism: Mildew sugarcane is soft in texture, and the pulp is darker than normal sugarcane, in light brown color, and smells mildly musty. A fungus called Arthrospora cane can be isolated from moldy sugarcane. Its toxin is 3-nitropropionic acid, which is a neurotoxin that mainly damages the central nervous system.

(2) Poisoning symptoms: The incubation period is short, with a minimum of only ten minutes. The initial symptoms of poisoning are temporary gastrointestinal dysfunction, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and melena, followed by neurological symptoms. , such as dizziness, headache, dark eyes and double vision. In severe cases, paroxysmal convulsions may occur; during the convulsions, the limbs become rigid, flexed and internally rotated, the hands are like chicken claws, the eyeballs are oriented upward, the pupils are dilated, and then the patient enters coma. Patients can die of respiratory failure, and survivors are left with severe neurological sequelae that result in lifelong disability.

(3) Treatment and preventive measures: There is currently no special treatment. Gastric lavage and enema should be performed as soon as possible after poisoning to eliminate the poison, and symptomatic treatment should be carried out. Preventive measures include: ① Sugar cane must be harvested after it is mature, because immature sugar cane is prone to mildew; ② Sugar cane should be sold as soon as it is cut, and should not be stored; ③ Sugar cane should be prevented from becoming mildewed during storage, and should not be stored for too long, and should be harvested regularly. Carry out sensory inspection on sugarcane and prohibit the sale of moldy sugarcane; ④ Strengthen education on preventing moldy sugarcane poisoning and educate the public not to buy or eat moldy sugarcane.