Crabs Eye

Crabs sure have big eyes, don't they? But the bright red-black beans called crabs eyes are no ordinary "eyes", they are poisonous beans!! They are discussed in Facebook Medicinal Plant Interest Group.

Crabs eyes (Abrus precatorius) of the Fabaceae plant family

In Facebook, a question was asked whether these seeds are dangerous. I wrote the following:

Yes, these seeds are poisonous. Way back in 1981-82, my US professor & myself researched on these seeds for anti-diabetes properties, etc. We did drug discovery using these seeds as a source of some analogue. I can't remember the details anymore. You can try and Google my professor, Prof Alexander McPherson. He was from MIT and working with another of my professor, Prof Frances Ann Jurnak. The couple moved from MIT to U of California Riverside, and later to UC Irvine. I left before they moved to Irvine.

The seeds are poisonous as they contain abrin, a toxic protein. The seeds are first heated and then boiled to denature and remove the toxin. The seeds are then dried. The leaves are not known to be poisonous and are either consumed raw or made into tea which clears the throat and improves the quality of voice for singing.

The seeds are known by many names. In Indonesia it is called Saga Manis while in Terengganu it is called Saga Keneri. Keneri was an old unit for weighing gold; one seed equals "satu mas" (1 seed = 1 gold). The term "mas" continues to be used today in the state of Kelantan even though gold was not used after the British colonial system in Malaya introduced their not-so-glamorous coins which were not gold coins but metal alloys.

After more than 90 years of the Kelantan gold coins missing from the Kelantan business scene, Kelantan has recently re-introduced gold coins to the general public. Gold coins and wafer-thin pieces of gold are still preferred items as "mas kahwin" in Malay weddings in Kelantan.