Woman Dies After Drinking Bitter Lauki Juice in Pune! Here’s Why It’s Dangerous To Drink Bottle Gourd Juice

In a horrifying case, a 41-year-old woman from Pune died after drinking bottle gourd (lauki) juice, according to a news report in The Times of India. The woman  was not suffering from any underlying health conditions but developed severe loose motions and vomiting after half-an-hour of consuming the juice on June 12.

As per the report, she went for a five kilometre run in the morning and consumed the juice after coming home at 9:30 am. But once she left for work, she started vomiting in the car. Her condition started deteriorating and she started suffering from loose motions, abdominal pain and breathlessness.

By 1:30 pm, she was rushed to the hospital. But by then, she had already lost consciousness and suffered a cardiac arrest. Over the next few days, her condition kept worsening, and she died of the complications on the midnight of June 16.

Why Is Lauki or Bitter Bottle Gourd Juice Dangerous?

Lauki or bottle gourd is considered a nutritious vegetable and its juice are frequently recommended as a weight loss aid. Bottle gourd is popularly known as lauki, ghia or dudhi in India. Many holistic and naturopathic remedies call for consuming its juice for controlling diabetes, liver diseases and hypertension, apart from weight loss.

However, consuming lauki juice may not be safe at all times, warns an expert committee formed by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2011. A bitter tasting bottle gourd juice can have toxic effects on the human body. There have been reports that consuming lauki juice can lead to severe vomiting and upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

The juice of the vegetable can turn bitter if it has a cytotoxic compound called Cucubitacins. The toxic compound is a part of the plant’s defence mechanism to prevent insects and herbivorous animals from eating them.

If a person unknowingly consumes the juice, it can lead to a harmful reaction in the gut and abdominal discomfort, pain, vomiting, hypotension and shock.But sadly, not many are aware of its side effects, and people continue to drink the juice in a bid to lose weight.

Here’s What You Should Know!

Firstly, do not undertake any naturopathic remedies or weight loss methods without consulting an expert first; it can be dangerous for you. Secondly, if the juice tastes bitter, you shouldn't comsume it because the bitterness is an indication that it contains the cytotoxic compound.

Bottle gourd is traditionally regarded as a healthy vegetable, which can turn deadly if it tastes bitter. This vital piece of life-saving information, however, is not very well known. So always conduct a taste check of the vegetable before you serve it to your family. Although cases of it turning fatal are rare, it can make you sick.

(Reference: Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria Siceraria) Toxicity: A “Bitter” Diagnostic Dilemma; Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) juice poisoning)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2018 09:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).