Her fans were worried, Alicia Silverstone reassured them. “Alive and healthy,” she wrote in a message published on her Instagram account. The messages multiplied in recent hours after the publication of a video showing the actress biting into a potentially toxic fruit, identified as belonging to the Jerusalem cherry tree.
On August 19, the 47-year-old actress filmed herself walking the streets of London showing off a small orange fruit that looks like a cherry tomato. “OK, I discovered something, but I can’t figure out what it is and I need your help,” the Clueless star tells her followers.
In the footage, she is seen biting into the fruit, showing the seed-filled insides. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat that,” she admitted. “It’s almost like a pepper.”
The video, which has been viewed 2.9 million times, sparked a wave of reactions in the comments, with fans expressing concern that the 47-year-old actress was eating a toxic fruit. “Oh my God, NO!! Jerusalem cherry, very toxic in the nightshade family. Hope you are well,” wrote one.
A toxic substance
According to the site MedlinePlus According to the National Institutes of Health, Jerusalem cherry “is a plant that belongs to the same family as the black nightshade.” Ingesting the toxic substance in its fruits can cause poisoning, “affecting primarily the gastrointestinal system (often delayed by eight to ten hours) and the central nervous system.”
Symptoms of poisoning “usually improve within one to three days, but hospitalization may be necessary,” the site further notes. Deaths due to the consumption of toxic cherries are, however, very rare.
More fear than harm for Alicia Silverstone. “Don’t worry… I didn’t swallow it,” she says in her latest message giving her news.
