What toxins does fresh daylily contain

Fresh daylily contains a toxin called colchicine. If you accidentally eat fresh daylily, it may cause food poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, etc. More serious cases may pose a great danger to life safety. In fact, fresh daylily can be used as long as it is processed, for example, by drying it in the sun or blanching it in boiling water.

What are the toxins contained in fresh daylily?

The toxin contained in fresh daylily is a substance called "colchicine", which can cause abnormal chromosome division, thereby inhibiting cell division and causing harm to the human body. It has even been used to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Colchicine itself is non-toxic, but after being absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, it will be oxidized into "dicolchicine" in the body, which is highly toxic. It is precisely because of the presence of this toxin that fresh daylily is considered "food more poisonous than arsenic". Although this statement is too exaggerated, we should still handle it properly before eating fresh daylily.

Can fresh daylily be eaten?

Fresh daylily can certainly be eaten, but the toxins must be eliminated before eating, because the toxins in fresh daylily can cause mild poisoning symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. However, this does not mean that it cannot be eaten. As long as it is properly handled, fresh daylily can be eaten safely. Moreover, daylily is very nutritious, and eating some in moderation is good for our body.

How to process fresh daylily

Fresh daylily is not a terrible thing. As long as it is processed before eating to eliminate the toxins in it, there are generally two common processing methods. One is to dry it, which is the dried daylily we often eat, and the other method is to soak it in water. Let us take a look at the specific operation methods.

1. Sunbathing

Blanch the fresh day lily in boiling water, then take out and drain it. Then you can put it directly in the sun to dry. Netizens who have dried it before suggested that it is better to dry it directly on the cement floor, because the temperature of the cement floor will rise very high after being exposed to the sun, making it easier to dry the day lily. And you must choose a stable sunny day to dry the day lily. It is not a good thing if it is exposed to rain in the middle of the process, as the day lily will easily go bad. After drying, the dried day lily can be sealed and stored.

2. Blanch and soak

Peel off each yellow flower of the day lily and remove the stamens inside, because the stamens contain most of the toxin colchicine. Then rinse the day lily and soak it in salt water for half an hour to weaken or eliminate the toxin. Only then can you eat it with confidence. Of course, you can also add a blanching step before frying, which can also remove the toxins. In short, you must pay attention to these steps before eating fresh daylily, otherwise it may cause poisoning.