From Mr J. G. Ives, MRPharmS
SIR,-Reading about the effect of contact with wild parsnip (PJ, December 11, 1999, p928) brought back memories of a different sort of contact - with the common vegetable parsnip root. Some years ago, I unwisely consumed the remnants of a stew that was rich in parsnips, late at night shortly before going to bed. As I lay in bed I found myself not only wide awake, but also in an abnormal state of mental agitation that I had not previously experienced. The following night was similar, though less intense but only by the third or fourth night was I in my normal state of relaxation.
Several days later, after some literature search, I came across the following by N. Sapieka (who had been professor of pharmacology at University of Cape Town medical school): "The parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, and also several parsley plants contain myristicin, the hallucinogen that is present in nutmeg".1
The experience was most unpleasant and I have not eaten parsnip since that occasion. In fairness to the vegetable, though, it is unlikely that one would get any such reaction by eating a normal serving together with other items of food. I had possibly eaten two or three medium sized parsnips on their own.
John Ives
Still Bay, West Cape, South Africa
| 1. Sapieka N. Food pharmacology. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, p1269. |