Chinese woman dies after drinking toad soup

A woman in Chinese business hub Shanghai who drank toad soup in a bid to cure cirrhosis of the liver died from toxins contained in the amphibian, food safety officials said.

The 57-year-old woman's husband, who is suffering from cancer, also took some of the toad soup -- said to be a traditional folk remedy -- but survived after treatment, the Shanghai Daily reported Sunday.

Officials said the couple from Hongkou district asked their son to bring live toads as they believed its soup could treat their diseases.

The couple boiled the toads and drank the soup. However, they went to a hospital when symptoms of poisoning began to appear.

"This was the first time that a person has died from eating toads in Shanghai in recent years," said a top official of the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.

Toads have also long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. As the amphibians live in cool, damp places, it is believed that ingredients extracted from them can clear heat from the human body, remove toxins and kill cancer tumours.