Chapter 2787 The Mystery of Ergot (Ⅱ) (Addition for Dameng S Equals kBlnW)

"Ergot is actually a kind of fungus. To be precise, it should be called 'ergot'."

Joan took out a pair of tweezers from the storage bag, picked up the purple horn-shaped particles in the glass tray, and patiently explained it to His Majesty the Emperor.

"Ergot fungi usually live in the ovaries of grass plants. The sclerotia formed are dark purple in appearance and off-white in interior, resembling horns, complex in composition, and bitter in taste."

"Excessive intake of ergot by humans and animals may cause severe symptoms of poisoning, such as muscle gangrene, convulsions, confusion, hallucinations, etc. - this is exactly what ordinary people think of 'holy fire syndrome'."

"Dr. Vida, you just said that gramineous plants are prone to be parasitized by ergot fungus, but wheat, rye and barley, which are the staple food of the public, and oats for horses, are all grass crops, so aren't they all infected with ergot fungus? risk?" Roland frowned.

Joan nodded frankly.

"Common grains are almost all hosts of ergots. Humans who eat grains as their staple food and livestock that feed on oats may suffer from 'holy fire disease' due to ingestion of ergots."

"According to this, any area where flour is the staple food should have outbreaks of holy fire disease, but in reality, the frequency of outbreaks of holy fire disease is not as high as imagined, and not all people who eat bread will get sick, and What's the reason why the popularity will disappear by itself after a while?"

His Majesty the Emperor asked Qiao An seriously.

The young mage smiled.

"Your Majesty, fungi like ergot can only grow easily in high-humidity and high-moisture environments. In reality, there are not many environments that meet this water-heat climate condition."

"Yesterday afternoon, I went to the university library to check the yearbook data released by the government. I found that most of the affected areas where the Holy Fire outbreak occurred had exceptionally abundant rain and high humidity last autumn, and the grains were prone to moisture and ergot bacteria. After the grains were harvested, if they were not If the ergot fungus is removed and sent directly to the mill for processing, some of the ergot will be mixed into the grain and ground, and finally mixed into the flour, making it indistinguishable.”

"Using this contaminated flour to bake bread or biscuits does not guarantee the removal of toxins, and it may still cause poisoning after ingestion."

"The climate in most parts of the Far East is relatively cold, and the grains are harvested once a year. The flour that people eat this winter and the beginning of spring is actually the last batch of stored grain at the end of last autumn. Therefore, the ergot mixed with the autumn grain last year was not used until this spring. Bake it into bread and put it on the dining table, causing many eaters to suffer from symptoms of poisoning. From a macro perspective, it is reflected in the outbreak of the 'sacred fire disease' pandemic concentrated in many regions in a short period of time."

"However, there are still many grain farming areas that did not experience the abnormal hot and humid climate last autumn. The rate of ergot infection in grains did not reach the critical point, so there will be no outbreak of flame disease."

"Your Majesty may have also noticed that most of the hardest-hit areas of the Holy Fire Disease are in remote villages, often with inconvenient transportation. The food harvested locally is mainly self-produced and sold. In addition, flour processing and storage conditions are not perfect, so the phenomenon of ergot poisoning is particularly common. .”

"Conversely, in cities with large populations and developed industries, there are very few cases of flame disease. This is mainly because the land around the city is more expensive, and most of it is residential, commercial and industrial land. Food is too cheap."

“Urban residents have neither the conditions nor the will to open up wasteland to grow food by themselves. The flour needed for three meals a day is purchased from the market. The flour for shops and bakeries is purchased from other grain-producing areas, and there is even no shortage of bulk grain futures imported from the New World across the ocean.”

"Many purchasing channels, coupled with the strict control of grain quality by grain merchants, ensure that grains contaminated with ergot will not flow into cities in large quantities. Therefore, statistically speaking, the probability of ergot poisoning among citizens is much lower than that of Residents of remote villages."

"Let's talk about the witchcraft case in Huyang Village. Since the 'Worship Festival' is a traditional festival that the local dwarves have been pursuing for many years, it can be seen that Tituba and others know that taking ergot will cause hallucinations, and they also know that strictly controlling the amount of consumption will not be harmful. Clear health damage."

"However, the dwarves may not know that the ergot fungus mixed with the grain, even if it is crushed into powder and baked at high temperature to make biscuits, the toxins cannot be completely removed. If you eat too much, you may be poisoned, which manifests as the so-called 'sacred fire syndrome'. "

"Tituba shared the biscuits he also ate with the girls who came to the house, and the girls got food poisoning. It can only be said that it was an unintentional mistake. I don't see any intention to harm others. Maybe this is Populus euphratica The truth about the village 'witchcraft case'."

Finally, Joan picked up a small biscuit with tweezers, looked at the candlestick, and said with deep feeling:

"Your Majesty, thanks to your wise judgment, Tituba and others have been saved from being wronged. However, this is not enough. It is necessary to publicize the poisoning of ergot fungus nationwide, guide the public to be vigilant, and at the same time urge grain storage and flour processing. The industry improves the process and carefully removes the ergot bacteria mixed with the grain, so as to fundamentally prevent the outbreak of the flame disease.”

"That's great, Dr. Vader, this is exactly the professional advice I want!"

His Majesty the Emperor stood up, patted the young mage on the shoulder, smiled, and his eyes sparkled.

"I suddenly thought of a good idea, Dr. Vader, why don't you accompany me to the broadcasting company tomorrow morning, and record this issue of "Fireside Chat" as a special guest, and talk about your understanding of 'Sacred Fire Syndrome' and 'Euphratica Village The Witchcraft Case' is the opinion of these two current hot spots of public opinion."

"It...isn't necessary?" Joan looked embarrassed.

"Of course it is necessary, Dr. Vader. Although I am the monarch of this country, when it comes to professional topics such as epidemic prevention, the audience is more willing to accept your point of view than my layman's opinion."

Qiao An admitted that His Majesty's words made sense, but when he thought of speaking to thousands of radio listeners, he couldn't help being nervous, worried that his words would not convey his meaning, and he would embarrass himself in the studio.

Roland obviously saw his concerns, and smiled encouragingly with his arms around his shoulders.

"This is a pre-produced recording and broadcasting program. It shouldn't be that there are only a few staff members besides you and the host. There will be no audience staring at you. It doesn't matter if you say something wrong. It will be done later. Editing is guaranteed not to embarrass you."

His Majesty invited him again and again, but it was really hard for Joan to shirk, so he had to bite the bullet and agree to accompany him to the magic broadcasting company to record a program tomorrow.

...

·Historical Materials: The Fire of St. Anthony

The ergot fungus in the grain, poisoned after eating, the limbs turned black and shrunk, was regarded as God's punishment by medieval Christians, and it was called "sacred fire disease".

Ergot poisoning has many common names, such as "anger" (French) "mal des ardents", holy fire (Latin) "ignis sacer", holy fire (German) "heiliges Fener" or "Saint Anthony's fire".

The patron saint of ergot poisoners is St. Anthony, and those who treat these patients are mainly followers of Anthony. Therefore, ergot poisoning is also called "St. Anthony's fire".

...

Ergot poisoning was first documented in the early Middle Ages as the cause of a mass poisoning of thousands.

This ergot-related illness remained vague for a long time.

Ergot poisoning has two characteristics: one gangrenous and the other convulsive.

When people eat flour containing ergot, they will suffer from poisoning, and their limbs and muscles will cramp, followed by numbness in their hands, feet, buttocks, and teeth, and then the muscles in these parts will gradually fester and peel off until they die.

Livestock eating grasses infected with ergot can also cause severe poisoning.

Ergot disease was rampant in medieval Europe for several centuries. It once became a serious hazard to humans and animals, caused a large number of pregnant women to abort, and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people again and again. It was called the devil of the Middle Ages.

Until recently, similar epidemic outbreaks of ergot poisoning had been documented in most countries in Europe, including some parts of Russia.

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