Moldy Sugarcane Poisoning— A Case Report with a Brief Review

Abstract

A five-year-old girl developed an acute encephalopathy after eating a piece of moldy sugarcane. Delayed symptomatic dystonia was the main effect; cranial CT scans revealed bilateral lenticular lucencies. This case is typical of moldy sugarcane poisoning cases previously reported only in China. 3-Nitropropionic acid produced by Arthrinium sp is the most likely etiologic agent.

KEY WORDS:

• food poisoning
• dystonia
• etiology
• moldy sugarcane
• mycotoxin
• Arthrinium sp
• 3-nitropropionic acid
• poisoning
• plants
• edible
• microbiology
• neurotoxins
• fungi
• chemistry