Experts warn eating THIS fish can give you LSD-like effects

The world under the sea is like an enigma to us humans. While we keep on exploring the depth of it with new adventures, there's still so much more about the aquatic world that we don't know. From mysterious sea creatures to fishes, we are yet to know the entirety of the thrilling and magical lives that live beyond the earthen terrains.

Salema Porgy- a hallucinogenic fish
One such aquatic creature that is truly surprising in its being is a fish called Salema Porgy or Sarpa Salpa . Recognized by its golden stripes, this fish is an inhabitant of the waters of temperate and tropical areas, from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. What is unique about this fish is its hallucinogenic powers.

It's true! As per traditional folk, the fish was eaten as a party drug in the Roman empire to achieve psychoactive effects. Because of its properties, the fish is known as "the fish that makes dreams" in Arabic. But why so?

The connection to hallucination


In 2006, an article published in the journal Clinical Toxicology presented two case studies to show just how psychedelic a Salema Porgy is.
The first instance occurred in 1994 when a 40-year-old man felt nauseated for almost two hours after he ate baked Salema Porgy during his vacation at the French Riviera. He faced symptoms such as blurred vision, muscle weakness, vomiting and hallucinations of animals screaming. He was admitted to a hospital and was only able to recover from the symptoms after 36 hours, where he couldn't remember any of these instances.
Another case was recorded in 2002, when after purchasing, cleaning and consuming the fish in Saint Tropez, also in the French Riviera, a 90-year-old man had hallucinations of screaming humans and squawking birds. He suffered from this for two nights with the effects subsiding in a couple of days.

Is Salema Porgy really hallucinogenic?
Consuming this fish can lead to hallucinations both visual and auditory, which is characterized by a phenomenon called ichthyoallyeinotoxism, a poisoning caused by the ingestion of a certain fish. As per Catherine Jadot, a marine biologist at the Reef Ball Foundation who has performed doctoral research on the fish, such poisoning can trigger nervous system disturbances and lead to effects similar to those of the drug LSD.

What makes Salema Porgy hallucinogenic?


Well, a study published in In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology in 2012, stated that the fishes consume phytoplankton that grows on seagrass called Posidonia oceanica, which has higher levels of toxicity in the fish's organs. This toxicity could be the reason why the consumption of Sarpa salpa has such effects on the physical and mental well-being of humans.