DISTRIBUTION:
Cultivated cash crop.
BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:
General: Plants grow ±1 m high.
Leaves: Heart-shaped leaves.
Flowers: White flowers
Seeds: Typical 3-sided seeds, shaped like a pyramid. Cultivated for seed. Used in chicken and bird feeds. Seeds used to bake special health breads.
TOXIC PRINCIPLE:
Photodynamic agent: Fagopyrin. Occurs in all parts of the plant – also in the seed. It remains toxic on dessication.
SYNDROMES:
Primary photosensitivity.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:
Liver, skin and appendages.
CLINICAL SIGNS:
Ingestion of buckwheat results in a primary photosensitization caused by fagopyrin, resulting in photodermatitis.
