Brassicosis

Brassicosis, also known as the Barentsz–Melang syndrome, is a potentially fatal neurological disease with psychological symptoms associated with psychosis and impaired cognitive function. Its origin is in a toxin naturally occurring within the stems of the Leng cabbage. Handling raw specimens of the Leng cabbage, or eating food grown in soil in which Leng cabbage has been decomposed, as well as eating improperly cooked Leng cabbage (and, obviously, raw Leng cabbage), can result in the manifestation of brassicosis.

The fortune of the Line of Merrick would subsequently derive from patents owned for the anti-brassicosis serum developed by Doctor Royston Merrick, based upon fluids extracted from "rebel" Shirerithian captives exposed to the "Kasprang" variety of Leng cabbage over an extended period.

Symptoms

• Impaired cognitive function (especially in abstract reasoning)
• Delusions (often of paranoid character)
• Hallucinations (more often visual than auditory or tactile)
• Increased impulsivity, aggressiveness
• Insatiable hunger, especially for cabbage and protein-rich raw foods, such as raw meat (during the Cabbage crisis, due to the many dead, this included corpses).