The 'suicide fruit' from The White Lotus exists, and it can kill: Deadly poisoning symptoms explained

The White Lotus Season 3 talks about a dangerous fruit from the Pong Pong tree that has deadly consequences. The mysterious fruit growing in the Ratcliff family's villa becomes an important plot point in the series when one character warns the other about its dangerous effects. As the season comes to an end, viewers are curious if this suicide fruit really exists and the answer is yes.

The green fruit which has become the talking point among the show's huge fanbase is found
in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Queensland, and Australia, and consuming it is no less than a death sentence, which has led the locals to name it as - 'suicide tree.'

The fruit that looks very much edible and may entice people to pluck and eat it is called Othalanga and comes from cerbera odollam or pong pong tree. The pong pong tree's seeds are filled with cerberin, a heart-stopping toxin.

The pong pong tree belongs to the dogbane family, a group of flowering plants known for producing toxic substances. The plant’s main toxin, cerberin, is found in high concentrations in the seeds (or kernels) of its fruit, which are about the size of peach pits. Even a small amount can be deadly, although some individuals have survived poisoning.

These fruits have been responsible for multiple suicides and a range of deaths historically. Ingesting its seeds could lead to death in most cases. Only few survival cases are known.

How does it taste?The fruit tastes bitter. Cerberin is a cardiac glycoside which means it attacks the heart. It is absorbed into the bloodstream from the stomach.

Symptoms of the plant poisoning
Consuming the seeds of the plant can cause hyperkalemia, heart block, and death as a result of the tree’s cardiac glycosides - organic compounds that increase the amount of force put on a person’s heart.

The tree is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, Queensland, and Australia.

The effects of pong-pong seed ingestion can show up quickly and can translate into symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Within an hour's time, the heart rate becomes extremely low, which can lead to palpitations and dysrhythmias that can cause heart failure.

A Journal of Emergency Medicine study lists its common symptoms to be vomiting and bradycardia. Commonly patients experience heart block, a condition that can make your heart beat slowly or skip beats.

“It will basically override the polarization within the body that's required for the heart muscle to contract and relax,” Owen McDougal, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Boise State University, told National Geographic. “Without the impulse and relaxation phases, the heart muscle just stops working.”

Pong pong trees have long been known as deadly plants . A 2004 study linked the tree to about half of plant poisoning cases and 10% of all poisoning cases in Kerala, India, between 1989 and 1999. The study also estimated that around 3,000 people may have died annually in past centuries from pong pong trees and their relative, the sea mango (Cerbera manghas), which was used as an "ordeal poison" during 19th-century witch trials in Madagascar.

Is there any cure?

There is no specific antidote to treat pong pong poisoning and the patient may be administered atropine, along with efforts at cardiac resuscitation.

If a person doesn't receive any treatment, they may die within an hour. People who are taken to the hospital experience a fast dropping heart rate, which may eventually stop.