Question:medium
Which toxin is responsible for epidemic dropsy?
Which toxin is responsible for epidemic dropsy?
Show Hint
It is the alkaloid of Argemone mexicana that adulterates mustard oil.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- BOAA
- Aflatoxin
- Sanguinarine
- Pyrrolizidine
Show Solution
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Epidemic dropsy follows the use of mustard oil adulterated with Argemone mexicana (prickly poppy) oil. Its causative poison is the alkaloid sanguinarine, matching option c.
Step 2: Sanguinarine blocks pyruvic acid oxidation so that pyruvate builds up, and it dilates capillaries while raising their permeability. Fluid then leaks into tissues, giving the characteristic bilateral pitting leg oedema that names the condition.
Step 3: Affected people may also develop diarrhoea, breathlessness, glaucoma and heart failure. Adulteration is confirmed by the nitric acid colour test or by chromatographic analysis of the oil.
Step 4: The wrong choices belong to separate toxidromes: BOAA (beta-oxalyl-amino-alanine) drives lathyrism, aflatoxin from Aspergillus damages the liver, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids produce hepatic veno-occlusive disease. Hence only sanguinarine fits epidemic dropsy.
\[\boxed{\text{Sanguinarine}}\]
Step 2: Sanguinarine blocks pyruvic acid oxidation so that pyruvate builds up, and it dilates capillaries while raising their permeability. Fluid then leaks into tissues, giving the characteristic bilateral pitting leg oedema that names the condition.
Step 3: Affected people may also develop diarrhoea, breathlessness, glaucoma and heart failure. Adulteration is confirmed by the nitric acid colour test or by chromatographic analysis of the oil.
Step 4: The wrong choices belong to separate toxidromes: BOAA (beta-oxalyl-amino-alanine) drives lathyrism, aflatoxin from Aspergillus damages the liver, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids produce hepatic veno-occlusive disease. Hence only sanguinarine fits epidemic dropsy.
\[\boxed{\text{Sanguinarine}}\]
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