Strychnine Tree

Strychnos nux-vomica

Other Names : Strychnos nux-vomica, Strychnos, Poison Nut, Quaker Bottoms, Vomit Weed, Brechnusssamen, Kuchla, Kupilu, Noix Vomique, Nuez Vomica, Nux Vom, Poison Nut, Quaker Buttons, Shudha Kupilu, Strychni Semen, Strychnos Seed, Vishamushti, Vomiquier, Azraqi, Azaraqi
See also :

• Nux vomica (Homeopathy)
• Ma Qian Zi

Constituents

• The seeds are the commercial source of strychnine
• The leaves contain 1.6% brucine and 0.025% strychnine
• The bark yields strychnine and bricine
• The wood yields 0.2285 % strychnine and 0.077% brucine
• Old roots contain 0.71% strychnine and 0.276% brucine
• The pulp of the fruit contains the glucoside 'loganine'
• The seeds (embryo and endosperm) contain strychnine and brucine in different proportions and amounts, as well as the glucoside 'loganine'
• The fixed oil of the seeds contains some strychnine and brucine; oleic, palmitic, arachic, butyric acid; etc

Special Precautions of Strychnine Tree

• Strychnine, the chief active principle of this plant, is one of the most powerful poisons acting on the nervous system
• It causes tonic contractions that are generally sudden and last from a few seconds to many minutes. They follow each other in rapid succession. In severe forms there is hardly any intermission. The whole body in such causes becomes rigid, immovable, and hard as a board
• Strychnine also has a marked effect on circulation. The blood pressure rises; there is arterial tension during the appearance of the convulsion; the frequency of the pulse becomes simultaneously slowed
• The mind remains perfectly clear in strychnine-poisoning.
• In cases of poisoning by strychnine an emetic or the stomach pump should be used at once and tannin or potassium permanganate given to render the strychnine inactive. Violent convulsions should be controlled by administration of chloroform or large doses of chloral or bromide. Urethane in large doses is considered an antidote. Amyl nitrite is also useful owing to its rapid action during the convulsion, and in absence of respiration 3 to 5 minims may be hypodermically injected.
• Brucine is another alkaloid found in the plant, but in smaller quantity than strychnine. It possesses properties similar to strychnine, but as a poison it is less active.
• When used in small doses in homeopathy or traditional Chinese medicine, nux vomica may cause side effects including dizziness, muscle cramps, pain, and tenderness.
• People with epilepsy should avoid using nux vomica. A 2012 study in the journal Seizure found the homeopathic remedy may induce epileptic seizures.
• People with liver disease should not use nux vomica as it may cause liver damage.
• There's also some concern that—even when consumed in very small amounts—strychnine can accumulate in the body and cause severe health problems, including resulting in death. Signs of strychnine poisoning include:
  • Anxiety
  • Convulsions
  • Exhaustion
  • Respiratory problems (including difficulty breathing)
  • Restlessness
• Supplements haven't been tested for safety and due to the fact that dietary supplements are largely unregulated, the content of some products may differ from what is specified on the product label. * Also keep in mind that the safety of supplements in pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and those with medical conditions or who are taking medications has not been established.

Health Benefits and Uses of Strychnine Tree

First Read Precautions !!!

• The root bark is ground up into a fine paste with lime juice and made into pills which are said to be an effective treatment for cholera
• The leaves are used as a poultice on sloughing wounds and ulcers, especially in cases where maggots are present
• The seed, combined with aromatics, is used in the treatment of colic
• The wood is used in the treatment of dysentery, fevers and dyspepsia.
• Used in small, medicinal doses, the seed is nervine, stomachic, tonic and aphrodisiac, a spinal stimulant; also a respiratory, and cardiac stimulant.
• They are used to treat rheumatic arthritis and paralysis
• The dried seeds have been used for promoting blood circulation, alleviating blood stasis and relieving pain.
• In traditional Chinese medicine, the seeds are usually heated in oil to reduce their toxicity. This significantly reduces the contents of strychnine and brucine and increases the amounts of isostrychnine, isobrucine, strychnine N-oxide and brucine N-oxide. (See : Ma Qian Zi)
• The bark is employed as tonic and febrifuge.
• The leaves are used in the treatment of skin diseases. They are also used as mild irritating rubefacient product to treat alopecia by intensifying the capillary blood flow and keeping the scalp and hair follicles active.
• The plant has been used in the treatment of paralytic and neuralgic affections, in atonic diarrhoea and chronic dysentery, also in habitual constipation dependant on torpor of the colon, in prolapse of the rectum, in incontinence of urine, in spermatorrhoea, and in other cases referable to debility or inactivity of the spinal system of nerves, it is a remedy of great value. It has also been employed with alleged benefit in intermittent fevers, epilepsy, diabetes, anaemia, chlorosis, and other affections.
• In Unani Medicine, Hudar is a medicine containing Strychnos nux-vomica. The seeds are first immersed in water for five days and then in milk for two days followed by their boiling in milk.
  • In smaller doses it transforms cold impaired temperament into hot and good, and renders to the body. It is used in nervous and phlegmatic disorders like Falij (palsy), Laqwa (facial paralysis), Wajaul Mafasil (rheumatim), Wajaul Qatan (lumbago) etc.
  • It is also used in the case of loss of appetite, constipation due to intestinal weakness and to check senile polyuria and infantile bladderweakness.
  • Being expectorant, it is used in cough, asthma and pthysis. It is resolvent and its liniment (when applied after rubbing with watr on skin) is used in inflammations especially that of plague. Moreover, after ashing kuchla in Kunjad (Sesamum indicum Linn.) oil and filtering, the oil is rubbed on rheumatic inflammations.
  • It is useful in gonorrhoea and other ailments due to impure blood. A paste of nux-vomica seed is valued as a face paste efficacious in acne and improving complexion. Paste is also useful in weeping itch and ring worm.

References

• Seema Akbar, Shamshad A Khan, Akbar Masood & M Iqbal (2010). "Use of Strychnos nux-vomica (azraqi) seeds in Unani system of medicine: role of detoxification". African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines. 7 (4): 286–290. PMC 3005396. PMID 21731158.
• Handbook on Unani Medicines with Formulae, Processes, Uses and Analysis.
• Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement), Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
• http://proseanet.org/
• http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.