This fish is dangerous: do not forget to eat!

The Dhaka Times Desk A species of fish has been found to cause severe narcotic effects on the human body. Don't forget to eat this dangerous fish!

It is known that this special type of fish called 'Serpa salpa' with an orange striped body can be seen in the West African coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Although this fish is harmless in nature, consuming it can have effects on the human body equivalent to deadly drugs like LSD or cocaine.

According to various media, just as the drug LSD creates hallucinations of strange images and mystical experiences in the brain, the small Serpa salpa fish also creates something illusory in the brain. Things you've never seen before. It can be more of a nightmarish hallucination.

In the Arabian region, this fish is called 'the fish that gives birth to day dreams'. Yes, indeed! A journal published in 2006 on 'Clinical Toxicity' reported two cases in this regard.

The first was the story of a gentleman vacationing in Cannes, southern France, in 1994. Within moments of eating cooked Sarpa Salpa, he begins to gurgle heavily. He decided to return home after the joy of the holiday. As he was driving himself back home, he felt as if some huge insects were coming from different directions to block his way. He was admitted to a hospital on his way back by car. It took about 36 hours for him to fully recover.

This fish has a deep relationship with the Mediterranean region of France-Italy! Because the second incident is also there in Saint-Tropez. A 90-year-old man was enjoying his fish when he suddenly began to hallucinate violently. It seemed as if many people were screaming loudly and the sky-splitting screams of birds were heavy around him. At first he didn't tell anyone about it, because people might think it was 'old age Bhimratti'! But when this continued for a few days, he turned himself in to the local poison control center.

এই হ্যালুসিনেশনের নাম ‘ইচিয়োঅ্যালাইনিটক্সিজম’। বিজ্ঞানীরা এর সঠিক কার্যকারণ এখন পর্যন্ত নির্ণয় করতে না পারলেও মোটামুটি নিশ্চিত হয়েছেন যে, এই মাছগুলোর শরীরে এমন মারাত্মক মাদকতার কারণ হলো এদের খাদ্যাভাস।

A study conducted in 2012 showed that Serpa salpa lives mainly by eating phytoplankton, which is born from seaweed. These phytoplankton are the main cause of such terrible poisoning in all parts of the fish's body. However, the name of this toxic substance is still unknown to the researchers.

Experts think, it is probably alkaloids. Chemically analyzed alkaloids are equivalent to LSD. That may be responsible for such hallucinations. However, the researchers are still continuing the research.