Return to Article Header

MYCOTOXINS

The greatest cause of death in the Middle Ages, aside from pestilence, was bread. After the collapse of classical enlightenment agriculture was conducted with neither care nor wisdom.   The planting and harvesting of grain was done in dismal ignorance. Once harvesting was completed landlords hoarded it to maintain stocks in the face of famine or to squeeze higher prices from the hungry. Europe's damp winters and improper storage set the stage for further misery. In the rye, wheat, barley, rice and oats a variety of fungal poisons and molds grew, producing toxins in the grain. Grain that would have been rejected by any Roman, Egyptian, Arab or Greek farmer were turned into bread or fed to livestock. Epidemics of Saint Anthony's fire and other mycotoxins killed thousands of people and livestock.

The most familiar of these ghastly fungal poisons was ergot. Ergot is first mentioned in an Assyrian tablet dating from 600 BC as a noxious pustule found on the ears of grain. A sacred text of the Farsis of Persian from 400 BC speaks of a deadly grass that caused abortions in cattle.   One chronicler described the impact of an epidemic in France in 943 AD:

"Shrieking, wailing and writhing men collapsed in the street. Many stood up from their tables and rolled like wheels through the room; others toppled over and foamed in epileptic convulsions; still others vomited and showed signs of sudden insanity. Many of then screamed "Fire! I'm burning!"

The symptoms were called holy fire, occult fire, Saint Anthony's fire, or Saint Vitus' dance. The symptoms of ergotism combined a sensation of cold hands and feet (cause by the contraction of vein and arteries in the extremities) followed by terrible burning because of the cutting off of circulation. Then came gangrene. The limbs quickly turned black from necrosis and finally arms, legs, ears and genitalia fell off. Death followed shortly afterward. A recent novel by Robin Cook suggests that ergotism was the root cause of the Salem Witch trials.

Ergot is a black or dark purple mass, a long, hard clubbed shaped structure formed by the mold Claviceps purpurea. The mycotoxins, which form in grains stored in dampness, contain alkaloids that are derivatives of lysergic acid. They block nerve impulses, cause constriction of the veins and arteries, stimulate and depress different parts of the brain and cause progressive paralysis and uterine contractions. With the restoration of agricultural know how, ergotism disappeared from area where proper storage of grain could be maintained and hunger did not drive persons to use grains they would otherwise reject. But ergotamine is not the only mycotoxin derived found in bread.

Another grain mycotoxin was identified in Russia in 1891 in the Ussuri district of eastern Siberia. Called the "staggering sickness" because its victims were stricken with vertigo, headache, chills, nausea and vomiting, the disease made several recurrences in the Soviet Union in 1934 and throughout the 1940s. The primitive harvesting methods still practiced in the midst of revolution, famine and war led to practices assuring its growth. It was common practice, particularly in the Caucasus, to leave grain in the fields over winter. But the cycle of thaw, refreeze and thaw promoted the growth of mold. The grain, now thoroughly infested was gathered up by hungry peasants determined not to waste a single stalk.   Grain poisoning added to the death toll.

Soviet doctors christened the disease alimentary toxic aleukia (ATA). The mycotoxins, produced by Fusarium poae and Fusarium sprotichiodes, were called trichothecenes or T2 toxins.

Outbreaks of ATA continued through 1947. Similar afflictions struck horses and cattle in Russia and Eastern Europe in 1958-9 through infected feed grains. There have been instances of T2 poisoning all over the world.   An outbreak killed 100,000 turkeys in England in 1960 after they ate peanut meal contaminated with aflatoxin, another T2 toxin.

T2 toxins are very stable, especially in solid form and may be stored for years at room temperature without loss of potency, even at temperatures of 100 F. They are easily absorbed through the skin or internal membranes. A dose as small as 0.1 mg/kg is fatal, making it more dangerous than cobra venom. These characteristics brought them to the attention of Soviet and American unconventional warfare experts, as will be discussed.