I like coconut water and usually buy it packaged in a cardboard carton. Sometimes I buy whole coconuts and drink the juice inside. But after watching this man who took a small sip of foul-tasting coconut water from a coconut that had been sitting on his kitchen counter for at least a month and ended up going to the hospital with acid and ammonia in his blood, a swollen brain, and a malfunctioning liver and kidneys, I think I'll stick to the cartoned stuff.
The coconut contained a fungus called Arthrinium saccharicola, which produces a toxin called 3-nitropropionic acid. This toxin prevents mitochondria from producing energy, which leads to cellular death. The man's brain swelled so much it started leaking through the cracks (sutures) in his skull. Unfortunately, he died about a day after being admitted to the hospital.
