The use of tong oil in traditional Chinese medicine is very extensive. It not only can be used as a medicine to expel phlegm, clear heat and detoxify, moisturize and kill insects, and nourish the skin, but also can be used as a chemical to replace varnish and paint as a coating. It can be directly used for machine maintenance and indoor wood flooring. So what are the dangers of the toxicity of tong oil?
What are the dangers of the toxicity of tong oil?
Tong oil is highly toxic and is clinically used externally and is prohibited for internal use. Cases of poisoning are all due to ingestion (mistaking tong oil for regular cooking oil for cooking). According to observations of 289 cases, most cases of poisoning symptoms occur within 2 hours after ingestion, with the earliest at 40 minutes and a few cases at around 4 hours. The main symptoms include nausea, frequent vomiting, followed by abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, difficulty breathing, limb convulsions, numbness and coldness in the hands and feet, vomiting blood, bloody stools, and fever. Severe cases can lead to coma and laryngeal spasms.
Laboratory tests have shown that some cases have mild kidney damage and can exacerbate clinical symptoms and liver function changes in liver diseases. Timely treatment can lead to recovery. In addition, there have been cases of subacute poisoning caused by continuous ingestion of trace amounts of tong oil (tong oil mixed in cooking oil).
According to reports of 52 cases, the clinical manifestations are different from acute poisoning in the following aspects:
1. Gastrointestinal symptoms are mild;
2. Systemic symptoms are more pronounced, with fever, shortness of breath, numbness in the hands and feet, which are more common than acute poisoning, and rare signs such as lower limb edema, decreased sensation, erythema, burning sensation, and enlarged heart;
3. The prognosis is more severe. Among the cases in this group, 5 cases died due to heart failure.
Effects and uses of tong oil
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that tong oil has the effects of expelling phlegm, clearing heat and detoxifying, moisturizing and killing insects, and nourishing the skin. It is mainly used to treat sore throat, abscesses, scabies, carbuncles, burns, frostbite, and chapped skin.
Tong oil can be used to expel wind-phlegm and externally treat scabies, carbuncles, burns, frostbite, and chapped skin. It can also be used to treat suppurative inflammation, appendicitis, cholecystitis, and tonsillitis. However, it should only be used externally and is prohibited for internal use. Ingestion can lead to poisoning.
Research abroad has confirmed that tong oil is toxic when ingested, but the toxicity disappears after drying. The term "toxic" here refers to the fact that it cannot be taken internally. It can only be ingested to induce vomiting when other poisons such as "arsenic" are mistakenly ingested.
Value of using tong oil
Tong oil
Tong oil is made by mechanically pressing and processing the harvested fruits of the tong tree.
Tong oil is an industrial vegetable oil, and the entire process is carried out using physical methods. The tong tree is a perennial woody forest tree that grows in mountainous areas far away from cities. It has strong resistance to diseases and pests and does not require fertilizers or pesticides throughout the growth process. Tong oil is a natural vegetable oil that has the characteristics of rapid drying, high temperature resistance, and corrosion resistance. Tong oil also has good waterproof properties and is widely used in construction, paint, printing (ink), agricultural machinery, and electronics industries.
With the rapid development of China's economy, the demand for energy is increasing, and the contradiction between energy supply and demand is becoming more and more prominent. Using tong oil as the main biomass energy as an alternative energy source will be the inevitable choice for China. In addition, with the development of industry, agriculture, fisheries, and the improvement of people's living standards, the domestic demand for tong oil will greatly increase.
