Ingestion of this plant, which grows in prairie lands of the great plains and lower areas of the Rocky Mountains, is associated with toxicity that includes nausea, vomiting, headaches, and non-specific dehydration and malaise?
The “buffalo bean” or “buffalo pea” plant, Thermopsis rhombifolia, has been reported to cause significant GI distress with associated nausea and vomiting. Patients may occasionally require admission for hydration and supportive care; no specific antidotal therapy exists. Livestock toxicity has been described to include skeletal myotoxicity, and at least one human case has had a documented elevation in serum creatine kinase. The role of gastric decontamination is unclear.
McGrath-Hill CA, Vicas IM. Case series of Thermopsis exposures. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1997;35(6):659-65. doi: 10.3109/15563659709001251. PMID: 9365438.
Contributed by: Joseph Kennedy