Several members of a village present over two weeks with bilateral painless swelling of both legs, and three of them complain of blurred vision with halos around lights. On enquiry, mustard oil purchased from an unlicensed vendor was used for cooking. The most likely cause of this outbreak is contamination with:

• A Gossypol from cottonseed oil
• B Tricresyl phosphate
• C Sanguinarine from Argemone mexicana oil ✓
• D Safrole from sassafras oil

Explanation

Epidemic dropsy is caused by adulteration of mustard oil with Argemone mexicana (prickly poppy) oil containing the alkaloid sanguinarine. It produces bilateral dependent oedema and characteristic ocular involvement including glaucomatous symptoms, matching the visual complaints here. Tricresyl phosphate causes polyneuropathy (jake paralysis), and gossypol causes infertility, neither of which fits the oedema-plus-glaucoma picture.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 26th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.