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Strychnine: A schedule one poison. Although this very fast
acting and very fatal poison can and almost always is fatal there are people
that believe that the risk of accidental death is worth it as it has a very
powerful stimulant effect to the nervous system in very small doses.
Strychnine is a virulent poison that affects the central nervous system.
Poisoning causes acute spasms of all muscles causing risus sardonicus a
fixed grin-like expression of the face with tensely clamped jaws, convulsions
particularly of the abdominal area which may cause vomiting (hence the name Nux
Vomica) and death normally results from either an interference with the
breathing control section of the brain (causing respiratory failure) or
exhaustion caused by the spasms and convulsions.
In very small doses strychnine may act as a neural stimulant or tonic and a
gastric tonic but, as strychnine is excreted very slowly, the cumulative effect
could cause fatalities. Considering that there are many alternatives that are
nor nearly as life threatening there is no justification for using this
substance.
There is also some evidence of anti-malarial activity of strychnine related
substances see Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy, September 1999.
In Vitro Activities of Strychnos Alkaloids and Extracts against
Plasmodium falciparum
Michel Frederich, Marie-Pierre Hayette, Monique Tits, Patrick De Mol, and
Luc Angenot Strychnine
is an Ergot Alkaloid, part of the Indole Alkaloid group.
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Indole Alkaloids: This large group of alkaloids has been the
source of many of the most potent hallucinogenic drugs and other pharmaceutical
drugs. This group of alkaloids contain many poisons including strychnine. As
a rule Indole Alkaloids act on the nervous system, ranging from a strong
sedative and tranquilising effect to total paralysis. In many Indole Alkaloids
the paralysis can be long lasting and is extreme enough to cause death. A very
small variation in dosage of Indole Alkaloids has a very high probability of
causing instant death. Many fatalities have been linked to accidental ingestion
of herbs containing indole alkaloids and in most cases the amount of herb
ingested was very small. |
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