Toxicities of raw Alocasia odora

Alocasia, the Araceae family, is a genus of more than 100 species of perennial, herbaceous, diminutive to extremely large, usually robust herbs with a clear-to-milky latex. They are distributed throughout subtropical and tropical Asia and in the tropical western pacific as well as eastern Australia. Despite easy access to A odora, there have been no published reports in English regarding the toxic symptoms following the ingestion of raw A odora. Here, the clinical manifestations of 2 patients that ingested raw A odora are described. Two patients experienced oral numbness and intractable tongue pain, and 1 patient required endotracheal intubation because of upper respiratory tract obstruction. Although conservative treatment is the primary approach to A odora poisoning, physicians should be aware of the potential for upper respiratory obstruction in patients exposed to A odora, as well as the need for controlling tongue pain.