小心你腕間的奪命殺手“相思豆”

在伊甸園項目旗下一禮品店發現相思豆手鐲是由比蓖麻毒兩倍的相思豆制成之后，伊甸園緊急召回多條“劇毒”相思豆手鐲。在發現這些在旅游景點出 售的手鐲是由劇毒種子串成之后，相關單位緊急發出警告，將其盡數召回。在英國康沃爾郡的伊甸園項目，今年售出2800條這種手鏈，其36個零售點正在敦促 顧客將這些紅黑色的“腕間殺手”退回。

據悉，中相思豆的毒之后尚無藥可解。目前在美國有三起相關案件，三名兒童因誤吞食相思豆種子中毒身亡。另外，還有一些案例發生在制造珠寶的工人身上，他們在工作過程中，因為疲勞困倦，手指不慎被針尖刺破而感染毒素。

Thousands of 'deadly' seed bracelets recalled after Eden Project gift shop reveals they are made from beans twice as toxic as RICIN. An alert has gone out for the recall of thousands of beaded bracelets sold in tourist attractions after it emerged they are made from a highly toxic seed.

The Eden Project in Cornwall, which sold 2,800 in a year, is one of 36 retailers urging customers to return the red and black wrist charms.

They are made from the Jequirity bean - a deadly seed of the plant abrus precatorious which contains the toxin abrin, a controlled substance under the Terrorism Act.

It can kill if just 3 micrograms is swallowed, 75 times smaller than a fatal dose of ricin to which it is related. It is twice as toxic as the chemical warfare agent.

The symptoms of poisoning are acute gastroenteritis with vomiting, diarrhea, shock and potentially fatal kidney failure.

People who have bought the bracelets are being urged to bag them and then wash their hands and avoid touching their eyes. They are being offered refunds by the stores.

The Eden Project in St Austell was selling the bracelets, which originated from Peru, for about a year before one of the attraction's own horticulturists spotted the poisonous seeds.

All remaining stocks have now been removed from its shelves and the item has not been sold through the company's online store. 'We have been advised that in an extreme case, if these seeds are chewed or ingested, it is very dangerous and potentially lethal.'

The Jequirity bean is commonly used in jewellery in West Africa and is thought to ward off witchcraft in the Obeah religion.

Its toxin is chemically more powerful than ricin, the poison used by the Bulgarian secret police to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov with a pellet-tipped umbrella.

There are three recorded cases of Jequirity beans killing children who swallowed them in the US, and there are cases of death by finger-prick among jewellery makers who jab themselves while boring through the seeds with needles. There is no known antidote.