The Department of Pharmacology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) acute toxicity test conducted revealed that the ‘Sukudai’ cocktail is toxic as it contains acetone, zinc chloride, and ethanol.
The Madara Sukudai cocktail has endeared itself to many Ghanaians, especially some Ghanaian youth, over claims that it contains heart-cleansing potency by patrons of the drink.
According to reports, Madara Sukudai is commonly sold in Zongos and auto mechanic shops, mostly sold by some Nigerien nationals and by some Ghanaians.
However, preliminary investigations by the Department of Pharmacology at the KNUST have detailed that the ‘Madara Sukudai’ contains substances harmful to human health.
According to the Department of Pharmacology at the KNUST, all laboratory rats given some doses of the concoction used to produce the drink died within 24 hours.
Speaking to JoyNews, the Head of the Department of Pharmacology at KNUST, Professor Cynthia Amaning Danquah stated, “We used rats for this experiment and we gave different doses from low to medium and then high doses of the product to the group of rats in each cage and within 24 hours all the rats died and we usually look at their behaviour etc but before we could say jack all the rats had died and initially we put some of the samples in universal bottles which are usually plastic and they all melted and then just a spill off of the product also melted the takeaway containers,”
Reports suggest the mixture was so aggressive that it even melted plastic takeaway bowls and universal bottles.
Professor Danquah added, “Preliminary tests show that the product contains organic solvents like acetone, zinc chloride, and ethanol. Just to give a fair idea to the layman, acetone is usually found in the nail polish that women use for acrylic nails, so we don’t take it. Then, zinc chloride is also corrosive in terms of organic solvents and other things. So it can cause gastric irritation if taken, so it immediately tells you that this is not something that should even be consumed. So, right on the surface value, this is not something that should be consumed. It is corrosive, and it will cause GI (gastrointestinal) irritation and can result in serious damage to the liver and the kidneys, so to learn that people are consuming this is a great concern to us,” she said.
“Some of these things take time, like chronic disease studies, you should do at least one to three months. I mean, and to be sure of what is actually happening, because as I said we’ll take out the organs and then do further biochemical tests, measure the liver enzymes and look at all the cells under the microscope, do some haematology, etc., and so we’ll just advise that people stay away from it.”
Ashanti Regional Deputy Security Coordinator Alhaji Njeh Abdallah Umar, who led the operation to arrest the trader at Aboabo, also revealed that sellers reportedly refuse to drink it themselves when challenged.
He said, “What has been given to a rodent in less than 24 hours has died. You don’t know who is consuming it, but they are Ghanaians. And the most interesting aspect is that those selling it, when you tell them to drink it, they will not.
Even if you force them, they are not going to drink it. And it has been in the system for many years. When I was young, I saw them selling it in town.
So we know what is happening now. Our health issues, internal organs, the kidneys, the liver and other organs, as far as the health issues are concerned. So it means we have to rise up and fight it.”
Also, a consultant nephrologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Professor Elliot Koranteng Tannor, raised an alarm on Sukudai being labelled as a ‘heart cleansing’.
Professor Elliot Koranteng Tannor stated, “These things are not things that you hope, especially the zinc chloride and then the acetone that you would want to take into your body. But my thinking is that it gives them some burning sensation in their chest. And that is what they are calling “cleansing their chests”, which I’m afraid, because of how corrosive the zinc chloride is, it might end up messing with or affecting their gut, and not that alone.”
“If it is absorbed into their body, then there’s a tendency it can affect their liver and their kidney. But from the research that was done, it is clear that most likely if they take it in toxic amounts, they might not live long enough for us to even see its effect on their kidney and liver and so on and so forth, because of the nature of what they are taking.
“This calls for an interest in trying to understand what is going on. And I think from the interactions we have had, it is even possible that comparing the dosage from street to street might not be the same. So far, we know the one that you saw is discontent.
What if somebody else is adding something else to make it more potent, which might end up causing more harm than even we saw with this lab rat? And I think that is what makes it a public health issue for us to address.”
Meanwhile, the reports suggest the National Security has launched a special operation to rid the streets of Kumasi of a popular toxic cocktail sold as a ‘heart cleanser.’
