Monday, May 25, 2020

Strychnine as a medical drug

                      Strychnine is a white, odorless, bitter crystalline powder

               that can be taken by mouth, inhaled, or mixed in a solution,

               injected in the muscle and given intravenously.

                    Strychnine is from the bean of St. Ignatius, and has similar

               properties to the bean of the tree nux vomica.  They both 

               contain the alkaloid strychnine. The bean of nux vomica 

               contains much lower levels of the alkaloid and has been

               studied to a greater extent. The primary natural source of

               strychnine is the plant Strychnos nux-vomica. This plant is

               found in southern Asia (India, Sri Lanka, and East Indies)

               and Australia.

                  Small doses of nux vomica have been used to make up a

               bitter tonic. It was said to be sufficient to affect the system,

               with an unusual influence on the nervous system.  At low

               doses, the tonic was found to increase appetite, speed

               digestion and increase urinary output.  In the past, strychnine

               was available in a pill form and was used to treat many human

               ailments.  Physicians used strychnine sulphate as a general

               tonic and a bitter to stimulate digestion.

                    In the Victorian era it was used therapeutically, such as in

               low doses for depression with a liquid strychnia in mental

               asylums. 

               Pictured here is a bottle of chocolate-covered strychnine

               tablets. They were clearly intended for medicinal use in

               humans.

                    In veterinary medicine, strychnine is used in form of sulphate

               (approx. 78% alkaloid) or nitrate (approx. 84% alkaloid) salts

               as a palliative for oral treatment of cattle (nux vomica) for

               stimulation of ruminal motility.  It is also used for subcutaneous

               and intramuscular injection in horses.   Max. intended duration

               of treatment is 4 consecutive days for ruminants and 5 days in

               horses.

                  This hypodermic syringe was made to be taken apart and a

                hypodermic tablet placed in the glass barrel, assembled and

                sterile water is drawn into the syringe.  Agitating the solution

                to dissolve the tablet.   One of the hypodermic vials show

                above contains a mixture of Physostigmine Salicylate,

                Arecoline, Lobeline and Strychnine Compound.  They were

                extensively used in cattle and horses from 1850 – 1900.

                   Today, strychnine is used primarily as a pesticide,

                particularly to kill rats.