Man tragically died after drinking from coconut gave him brain damage

A man tragically died after drinking water from a coconut, having been left with severe brain damage within hours of consuming the drink.

The horrific case was detailed in a 2021 paper, where the authors explained how the 69-year-old man, from Denmark, had consumed coconut water directly from a coconut using a straw.

“Because the water had a foul taste, he swallowed only a small amount,” the study said.

“Afterward, he opened the nut and described to his wife that the interior was slimy and looked rotten.”

The coconut was commercially prepared, having had the husk removed and ‘an included punch and straw for easy access to the carpels (holes) and the coconut water’.

He noticed the water had a 'foul taste' (Holger Leue/Getty Images)

It was recommended to store the drink at 4°C–5°C in the refrigerator, but the coconut had been kept on the kitchen table for a month after it was purchased.

Around three hours after drinking the coconut water, the man began to suffer from sweating, nausea and vomiting.

When paramedics arrived, he was ‘in distress’ with ‘pale and clammy skin, reduced mental state with confusion, dystonia, and poor balance but normal strength in the extremities’.

After being rushed to hospital, he was admitted to intensive care after his consciousness dropped.

“Twenty-six hours after admission to the hospital, the clinical appearance and imaging indicated clinical brain death, and treatment was discontinued,” the paper said.

According to the study, the man’s cause of death was poisoning with 3-nitropropionic acid from coconut water spoiled with the fungus Arthrinium saccharicola.

He suffered severe brain damage (TEK IMAGE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images)

“Fungi of the Arthrinium genus produce the lipophilic and highly toxic 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA), which is involved in the etiology of moldy sugar cane poisoning with severe encephalopathy,” the authors said.

“3-NPA irreversibly binds to and inhibits succinate dehydrogenase in the mitochondria, thereby blocking the citric acid cycle and ATP generation in cells, which would explain the observed severe lactate acidosis.”

They added: "The symptoms of 3-NPA toxicity in humans are similar to those for bongkrekic acid, as described regarding sugar cane poisoning in humans in China and Africa, including initial gastrointestinal symptoms with vomiting and diarrhoea and progressing encephalopathy leading to coma and death. These symptoms are similar to those of the patient."

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