Q. Can you explain Toxicants in Plant Foods?

Several foods, some of which we consume regularly, have toxic compounds in them which are best avoided. These compounds can be proteins, amino acids, alkaloids or cyanogenic glycosides in nature. Let us have a look at the different toxicants which have been identified in foods for human consumption. Favism is a condition characterized by haemolytic anaemia (breakup of red blood cells) after eating fava beans. Fava beans, which are a major protein source for the Middle and Far East and North Africa, are a hazard for those individuals who have a deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Initial symptoms of the disease favism caused by eating these beans include headache, nausea, vomiting, pain and fever. This is followed by haemoglobin in the urine resulting from a rapid breakdown of red blood cells, jaundice and death.