Curara snake. Curare (plant) - description, useful properties, application. Other poisonous plants
In the fascinating books of Fenimore Cooper, Mine-Reid and other adventure novels, there are often descriptions of hunting or war, where the Indians used poison - curare for their arrows. Extracted from some plants South America and used to lubricate arrows. Therefore, he received the name of arrow poison. Once in the body of an animal, this poison causes muscle paralysis.
At the end of the last century, scientists managed to uncover the mechanism of action of this strong plant poison. It has been studied in more detail in recent decades, when modern technology, for example, electronic equipment, came to the aid of the pharmacologist-researcher.
It turned out that the effect of curare on the body is very peculiar. Under normal conditions, a nerve impulse coming from the central nervous system (CNS) along the motor nerve approaches the nerve ending. From here, nervous excitement spreads to the muscle and it contracts.
The spread of excitation can be recorded using a cathode oscilloscope - a special device that allows you to record the slightest electrical vibrations - biological potentials or biocurrents that occur in a nerve and muscle. What happens if curare gets into the tissues and blood of a healthy animal?
The animal loses the ability to hold its head, weakens, then the muscles of the limbs are paralyzed, and after all this, breathing stops. Curare blocks (breaks) the transmission of excitation from the nerve to the muscle. On an oscilloscope, one can see that after the curare has entered the animal, the magnitude and nature of the nerve biocurrents do not change, and the muscle potentials disappear and it stops contracting.
This is due to the fact that curare selectively acts on the place of contact of the muscle with the nerve ending. It is here that the motor reflex is interrupted. Thus, the muscle under the influence of curare loses the ability to perceive nerve impulses that usually cause it to contract and maintain tone.
Curare is an extract from plant sap and contains a number of poisons, that is, it consists of several chemical compounds. One of the main ones is a substance called tubocuraein. It was possible to isolate it in its pure form and install chemical structure. This compound acts like curare itself. The question arose - is it possible to use tubocurarine in cases where doctors need to relax the muscles of a person during complex long-term operations?
Pharmacologists and chemists sought to synthesize new substances similar to tubocurarine, but less poisonous and more accessible. These searches were crowned with success.
Curariform substances are often called muscle relaxants - from the Greek word "me" - muscle and the Latin "relaxation" - relaxation. Let's name some of them: dilacin, paramion, dithylin. Surgeons have received reliable assistants that allow them to quickly and completely relax the patient's muscles on the operating table and thereby facilitate the work of the surgeon.
The value of curare-like drugs during operations on the heart and lungs is great. Such operations are usually carried out with the help of artificial respiration and circulatory apparatus. Using curare-like drugs, doctors turn off natural breathing, paralyze the respiratory muscles.
Muscle relaxants are also used when it is necessary to precisely match the ends of a broken bone in the area, for example, of strong thigh muscles. Increased muscle tone is easily suppressed by curare-like drugs.
Muscle relaxants injected into a vein or artery help in the study of the trachea and bronchi, with their help it is easier to introduce a bronchoscopic tube to a person, to do bronchography. Curare-like substances are used for the treatment of electric shock, to prevent convulsions in tetanus. It's hard to list everything possible areas their applications.
Muscle relaxants are injected into a vein or artery: they are partially destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract, and the rest of them are absorbed slowly and incompletely. That is why the curare introduced with food enters the bloodstream only in small quantities. By the way, this explains the fact that the Indians ate the meat of animals poisoned with curare with impunity.
In the arsenal medicinal products it is very important to have curare-type preparations that would work even after oral administration. This is especially necessary for the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system, accompanied by an increased tone of skeletal muscles. Pharmacologists and chemists have already managed to achieve the first successes: drugs have been obtained from some plants, similar in action to curare, but active when taken orally in the form of tablets or powders (elatin, kondelfin.)
Curare poison is considered the strongest toxic substance obtained by humans from dangerous plants. The harmful compound has caused fear in people since ancient times. It was made by the Indians in a certain way, carried out specific rituals. What tree is curare poison obtained from? What is it, is it really so dangerous and does it cause an overdose?
What is it, application
Curare poison has been used by the tribes of South America since ancient times. Aborigines and Indians used a dangerous compound to hunt animals. The main sources of such a toxin are considered to be a vine, similar to a tree trunk. It is called curare, the poison got its name precisely because of it. Only shamans had the right to prepare such a remedy, the preparation scheme was kept under a serious ban.
Liana belongs to the Loganiaceae family, often found in South America. This is an evergreen tree. The stem is stiff, often up to ten centimeters in diameter. plant leaves big size, heart-shaped. One side of them is smooth, on the other there is a short soft pile. The flowers and fruits of the vine are small.
However, different tribes used different plants to prepare the poison, so for a long time scientists could not determine from which tree the curare poison was created. For a similar purpose, the plants chilibuhu (emetic nut), chondodendron were used.
Investigation of poison by Europeans
The toxin was discovered eighty years ago. American scientist Walter Raleigh studied the natives. During research, I noticed that they use some kind of substance that kills animals in seconds. He managed to get a few drops of curare, tasted them and lost consciousness for a long time. The amount of poison was not enough to kill him.
Some time later, the French scientist Charles Marie de la Condamin managed to steal several samples of the poison and the technology for its manufacture. Later, scientists studied the substance for a long time, but at the beginning of the nineteenth century they could not understand the technology and determine the source of the toxin. It was only under Napoleon III that the composition was determined. Since the forties of the twentieth century, curare poison has been used for medical purposes.
How is this poison obtained?
What is curare poison made from? The dried plant is of no interest to the natives. Curare poison is extracted from a freshly plucked vine. For Aborigines and Indians, the manufacture of toxin is a sacred act, so they carefully prepare for it.
People who will be engaged in the extraction of curare, for some time adhere to the fast - they eat certain foods, are constantly silent and have no relationship with women.
The manufacturing process takes at least eight days. On the first day, the tree collected for curare poison is cleaned and crushed to a mushy state. On the second day, in the evening, a fire is made, on which they begin to boil the poisonous substance.
Care must be taken to keep the fire small and constant. In the morning, the fire is extinguished, and the poison is left for another couple of days. Later given time the ritual is repeated. Poison is prepared only at night. Other poisons (plants, snakes, frogs) are also added to the liquid container to enhance the effect of curare. During cooking, people are silent, women are forbidden to approach the sacred place.
After all the manipulations carried out, a substance of a viscous consistency and dark brown color remains in the pot. It is stored in specific pots and is used not only for hunting, but also for exchange with other tribes.
Types of curare
There are several types of toxin. Curare was made from different combinations of toxins and used for different purposes. It was stored in three ways.
Kinds:
- Pipe (tubo-curare) is considered the main type of hazardous substance. They kept it in hollow bamboo stems, reaching twenty-five centimeters. It was used for applying to arrowheads and helped to kill small animals.
- Potted (pot-curare). The toxin is stored in specific clay pots and is used to hunt birds. The poison was applied not to arrows, but to small darts blown through a special tube. The target was hit quickly and silently.
- Pumpkin (calabash-curare). This connection is considered the strongest. Storage was carried out in pumpkin fruits, the substance was used for military purposes and when hunting large animals. Poison was applied to spears and arrows. Even a scratch is enough for a living organism to die a quick but painful death. When preparing such a toxin, other poisons were often added to the vat to increase its destructive power.
Aborigines and Indians always knew exactly which of the poisons to use for poisoning. Thanks to this, they could either kill the victim, or simply deprive him of the ability to move for any time.
Why is curare so dangerous?
It is impossible to get poisoned by pure juice from a tree. Even the prepared remedy will not harm if eaten. Why is curare toxin so dangerous?
Scientists have long studied the properties of a toxic compound and brought out a certain feature. The poison does not penetrate the body through the skin and mucous membranes, the acidic environment of the stomach destroys it.
Therefore, the meat of animals killed by curare can be eaten without fear. In order for a harmful compound to begin a destructive effect, it must enter the bloodstream. The active dangerous substance - tubocurarine - begins destruction precisely from the circulatory system and provokes the development of negative symptoms.
The poison causes poisoning and paralysis of muscle tissue, but does not affect the nervous system. A living organism is fully aware of what is happening to it at such a moment. Gradually, complete paralysis occurs, the respiratory process is disturbed. The toxin blocks signals from neurons from the brain to muscle fibers.
It is possible to stop the process during artificial respiration, perform it until the poison is completely excreted by the kidneys from the body. Death from curare is quick, but rather painful due to the full awareness of the ongoing process.
Application in medicine
The study of curare was carried out for a long time, antidotes were found that stop the destructive effect of the poison. However, scientists have been able to identify ways to use such a poisonous substance for medical purposes. It was determined that it was possible to control the effect of the poison on the body by changing the dosage.
Experiments were carried out on the use of the substance in surgical interventions in anesthesiology, as muscle relaxants. The toxin has many useful properties, it is permissible to use it for various diseases.
Diseases:
- Pathological processes in the urinary system, the presence of stones;
- nervous disorders, epileptic seizures, schizophrenia;
- tetanus;
- dropsy, feverish condition;
- compresses for bruises.
The use in small dosages has a beneficial effect on the state of visual, auditory, palatability. Vision becomes sharper, there is an improvement in the perception of color and brightness.
IN traditional medicine poison is not used due to increased toxicity. Although it is possible to find suggestions on the Internet to use curare poison for cancer, but this is fraught with a quick death from poisoning. It is made mainly in Germany and Sweden. Treatment with such a substance is unacceptable in people with weak kidneys, liver and low blood pressure.
Curare poison is one of the most dangerous substances on the planet. A small amount of drops can kill a person, so this compound is not commercially available. The presence of useful properties makes it possible to use curare for medical purposes.
Video: more about the poisonous plant
Curare(Curare) - curare poison - refers to
family loganiaceae (?).
Poison for lubricating arrows, used
South American Indians. Sources
differ in the description of the components of this poison:
indicate different kinds Strychnos and also
Cocculus toxiferos and snake venoms. Other
researchers write that arrows are lubricated
poisonous secretions of toads. Outwardly curare
reminiscent of licorice extract. Substance used in the tests
Wesselhoeft, was provided by Merck from Darmstadt.
The drug is prepared from a tincture.
CHARACTERISTIC
Curare causes muscular paralysis, exerting its effect, apparently,
exclusively on neuromuscular synapses without damaging either the nervous or
muscle tissue and without affecting sensitivity and consciousness. So
Thus, the action of Curare is in many respects the opposite of that of Nux vomica,
despite claims that the juice of strychnine-containing plants is included in
composition of this poison. Curare causes death due to respiratory paralysis
muscles. Reflex (secondary) action in Curare is not expressed or at all
absent, in contrast to Nux vomica, and this is one of the important
instructions for homeopathic use of the drug. Published
report on cure with Curare 200 pseudohypertrophic
paralysis.
Curare causes a condition resembling catalepsy; arising from
on awakening, immobility of the body, combined with a fixed gaze.
Many of the secretions of this remedy have a stench.
Burkhardt published two cases of diabetes cure in middle-aged men
using Curare 4.
This remedy is indicated by: great debility, reaching a degree
paralysis; weakness in the elderly; nervous weakness due to loss
physiological fluids.
PSYCHE
inability to think or learn; forgetfulness; lethargy;
drowsiness; apathy. Indecision. Excitement, haste.
Depression, desire to be alone.
Epilepsy. Catalepsy.
TYPE
The drug is suitable for scrofulous children.
TROPICITY
Many symptoms occur on the right side.
CLINIC
Beli. Rabies. Vaginitis. Headache. Dizziness. Depression. Diabetes.
Dysmenorrhea. Scrofula. Heartburn. Ulceration of the cervix (scirr). Hiccup.
Sciatica. Catalepsy. Qatar. Cough. Whooping cough. Facial paralysis. Corns.
Neuralgia. Nervous weakness. Fainting. Dyspnea. Ozen. Numbness. Otitis.
Paralysis. Paralysis of the respiratory muscles. Paralysis of mimic muscles. Hepatic
spots. Diarrhea. Uterine lesions. Ear lesions. Pseudohypertrophic
paralysis. Ptosis. Cancer. Vomit. Palpitation. Weakness. Dorsal dryness.
Tetanus. Nausea. Consumption. Eczema. Emphysema. Epilepsy. Ulcers.
GENERAL SYMPTOMS
Piercing pain. Throbbing pain.
Weakness; heaviness; numbness, sometimes with tingling.
Great weakness, reaching the degree of paralysis; weakness in the elderly;
nervous weakness due to loss of body fluids.
Many discharges have a characteristic stench.
Ptosis. Cancer. Weakness. Nervous weakness. Scrofula.
LEATHER
Blueness of the skin, although the patient has a fever. Itching with hunger.
Scrofulous eruptions.
Eczema, especially on the face and behind the ears.
Yellow-brown liver spots. Corns. Ulcers.
DREAM
Drowsiness; can't help but doze off.
There is anxiety at night constant desire put your feet out from under
blankets, especially closer to the morning. Even long sleep doesn't feel
a good night's rest; dream of fire and day cares; worse if long
lies in bed, must get up, otherwise the feet and back begin to ache.
FEVER
Chill : running up back; spreads from the stomach;
starts in the abdomen and covers the whole body; without thirst.
The heat is worse at night and in the open air.
Sweating comes from any effort.
Sweat: cold, bloody; sweating worse at night.
After the fever comes a cough with redness of the face and throbbing, as if
hammer, pain in the head.
HEAD
There is a feeling that the brain is filled with fluid.
Confusion of thoughts, with great heaviness on vertex.
Headache on the background of neurosis; piercing pain, covering the whole
head, forcing to lie stretched out; stiffness in the neck, head
thrown back; painful undulations in the brain, as if
full of liquid neuralgic pain radiating from the area
forehead to neck and face; strong blows in the region of the cerebellum.
Piercing pain in temples, worse right. Pain radiating from
base of the brain up; aggravated during chewing. Headache:
clouding thoughts; aggravated by violent movements or stooping.
Tearing, splitting headache on coughing; compelling
hold the patient's head to the side. Sharp stitches over the right eye,
extending backward through the right half of the head.
Blows to the head as if struck with a hammer, combined with vomiting of bile.
Congestion of blood to the head.
DIZZINESS
sudden dizziness; the patient faints when standing or walking.
Vertigo when looking at close objects or at water.
FACE
Paralysis of mimic muscles. Facial paralysis with cheek asymmetry; V
some cases with difficulty swallowing.
Aching pain in the right side of the face. Eczema on the face.
EYES
Heaviness of the eyelids; the patient can hardly lift them; ptosis (right-sided).
Sunken eyes, haggard face.
Eyes red, hot, sensitive to light.
It seems as if the eyes are full of splinters.
Black spots in the field of vision, especially when reading.
EARS
Ear lesions. Various sounds in the ears: whistling; screaming sounds
wild animals; ringing in the right ear. Piercing pain spreads from
ears down along the body and reaches the legs; forces the patient to lie down.
Internal otitis, maddening, with purulent discharge.
Eczema on the skin behind the ears.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
Sciatica with great stiffness.
Neuralgia. Paralysis. Facial paralysis.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Shortness of breath, stitching pain in right side.
Dyspnea from weakness of motor nerves, consumption or emphysema.
Paralysis of the respiratory muscles. Shortness of breath, worse on going up.
Burning heat and fullness in the throat.
Severe pain in the lungs, especially in the left; sharp, penetrating the entire chest
cell pain; there is always a marked aggravation in wet weather;
shortness of breath, chronic cough.
Whooping cough. Consumption. Emphysema.
RIB CAGE
Painful sensitivity chest, the patient can hardly bear
pressure with a stethoscope.
Pain and numbness in the left side of the chest and in the left arm.
COUGH
Always dry, hacking cough, with sore chest wall;
worse in damp weather or when laughing. Spasmodic cough, shaking everything
body that causes vomiting (which also often occurs after an attack
cough); causing headache and redness of the face.
Painful morning cough. Cough worse on inhalation
and cold air, during laughter, movement, food.
NOSE
Qatar. Ozena; secretion of lumps of fetid pus.
HEART AND CIRCULATION
Anguish behind the sternum, palpitation and stinging pain in the heart. Fainting.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Diabetes.
MOUTH
The tongue and face are beveled to the right. Coated tongue. Dry mouth.
On awakening, the tongue is yellowish at the base, with raised papillae,
pale pink above, yellow-white bloom.
. smack. Bitterness and taste of blood in the mouth.
STOMACH
Sudden feeling of hunger, up to faintness. intense thirst, especially
in the evening and at night. Relief after the first sip of food.
Chill after eating. Frequent painful hiccups. Nausea in the morning; after meal.
Vomiting of green bile at night, with such weakness that
the patient can hardly stand up. Feeling of emptiness and faintness in the stomach.
Acute rheumatic pain in the pit of the stomach, followed by nausea.
Shootings in the stomach. Heartburn, pain and bloating, even from
a small amount of food.
APPETITE
Thirst and intense hunger with fever.
. addictions.
Desire for sour.
. disgust.
To bread.
STOMACH
Exhausting aching pain extending from throat to left
hip area. Soreness and bruised feeling in the intestines.
Pain in the groin, extending downward, and heaviness in the limbs when walking.
Neuralgic pain in the lower abdomen, with pressure in the vagina.
ANUS AND RECTUM
Diarrhea with constant urging; offensive, loose, mushy stools;
intense pain in the hemorrhoids. Violent watery diarrhea.
URINARY SYSTEM
Frequent passing of light urine, with boring, spasmodic
pain in the kidneys; shootings in the stomach; dry mouth; strong thirst,
especially in the evening and at night; glucosuria; marked exhaustion (acute
developed diabetes). Urine copious, persistent urge; feeling like
the bladder is distended.
WOMEN'S
Uterine lesions. Leucorrhea: thick, purulent, offensive, lumpy.
Weakness, night sweats, aversion to sex (vaginitis).
Ulceration of the cervix (scirrhus), with ichorous, corrosive discharge;
downward pain in uterus; sharp, shooting stitches, trembling.
Ulceration with burning in vulva and thighs; lumbago and
boring pain in uterus.
MENSTRUATION
Menstruation comes a week earlier than usual; constricting pain in right
ovary; downward pain in the pelvic region, tiring, extremely
severe (provoking fainting) pain in the sacrum,
extending down the thighs; discharge scanty, very dark,
lasting three days instead of five. During menstruation occur:
colic, headache, kidney pain, general malaise, hypochondria.
Dysmenorrhea.
MUSCLES
Complete paralysis of the right deltoid muscle.
Pseudohypertrophic paralysis.
NECK
stiffness in the neck; head thrown back.
Stiffness of the muscles of the right half of the neck and the right shoulder joint.
BACK
Dull, aching pain in the shoulder joints and along the back; numbness and pain
as if from weariness, extending up and down the back and to the head.
The chill extends up the back and over the whole body.
Dorsal dryness.
LIMB
Paralysis of the limbs, with sensation of burning heat, or with chilliness.
Aching pain in the limbs and all over the body. Numbness with prickling.
. Hands. Complete paralysis of the right deltoid muscle. Pain and numbness
in the left side of the chest and in the left arm. Lead heaviness in the hands, not
allowing you to play the piano. In the evenings, the arms and hands swell, become
painful and hard. Great weakness, especially in the wrists and
brushes.
. Legs. Trembling in legs; legs fail when walking. Sciatica with severe
stiffness. Corns.
INFECTIONS
The medicine appears to be helpful in cases of rabies and tetanus.
MODALITIES
. Worse. From movement; walk. When lifting up. From dampness. cold,
in cold weather, from cold wind. When the weather changes. At 2 am and
at 14-15 pm.
RELATIONSHIPS
In cases of poisoning, the victim should be transferred to artificial
breath.
Bromine and chlorine serve as an antidote.
If the poison is in a stab wound, rubbing tobacco or salt into it partially
neutralizes the effect of the poison.
Curare serves as an antidote for strychnine and rabies poison.
Compatibility:
after Arnica (paralysis due to injury),
after Belladonna (paralysis due to epistaxis).
Curare well followed after Baryta carb. in debility in the elderly.
Should be compared:
Nux vomica, Aranea diadema (fever worse in wet weather);
Crotalus (feeling of blows in the region of the cerebellum);
Sepia, Lyesinum, Nux vomica, Sulfur (yellow-brown spots on the skin).
Curare - poison plant origin. The famous South American arrow toxin became known to Europeans in the 16th century thanks to campaigns in New World Spanish and then Portuguese conquerors. It is believed that in the same century he came to Europe. But him chemical composition, the effect on the body, the plants from which this unique product can be obtained, were fully investigated only at the beginning of the last century.
Mysterious selva
Curare is a poison, the secret of which the Indians carefully concealed from the conquerors, which gave rise to many legends surrounding this mysterious toxin. Moreover, the vegetation along the rivers of South America, the Amazon and the Orinoco, is incredibly rich. Studies have shown that in these areas, on a plot of only 2,000 square meters, about 500 different plants belonging to 50 families grew. The selva itself, the natives with poisoned arrows, the mysterious poison from which they died a strange death - everything terrified the colonialists.
Plants - suppliers of ingredients
Curare is a poison, which, as it turned out later, can be obtained not only from poisonous strychnos (strychnos toxifera), but also from other plants. The alkaloids contained in at least two of its varieties are found in plants of the menisperm or moon-seed family, such as abuta and chondrodendron, telytoxicum and sorrel-leaved kirkazon. The necessary components for curare poison are obtained from several types of chilibuha - deadly, Jobertiana and devilish. But the raw material base for the manufacture of this toxin, which is used in medicine, has significantly expanded with the discovery of Zola capers.
emetic nut
Until now, the natives of the South Amazon prefer to hunt with this poison. It is not surprising that the strongest composition is made in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Solemoe River (the name translates as "poison"), a tributary of the Amazon.
The Indians of South America, during their colonization by the Spanish conquistadors, obtained their poison for arrows and spears from strychnos. These are trees and vines. The evergreen tree from which curare poison is obtained is called the strychnine tree, or emetic nut, or chilibuha. It is this that serves as the source of the alkaloid strychnine.
Characteristic container
We must immediately make a reservation that the specified product is sold in various packages. And according to what it has circulation, the poison is called - potted, pipe and pumpkin, or pot-, tubo- and kalabash-curare. Each package corresponds to a certain composition and the plant from which curare (poison) is prepared. So, potted, stored in small pots of unbaked clay, is made from the bark of the castelnean chilibuha. It is used for bird hunting. Small arrows cut from the veins of a palm leaf are dipped in this toxin and blown out with force from a bamboo tube.
The flight of such an arrow is inaudible for a bird, and there are no misses, because it is enough just to hit a feathered arrow with a feathered arrow, and it falls down like a stone. To hunt larger animals, different arrows and bows are required, and the poison must be more potent. Such curare poison is obtained from a tree called chondrodendron, which is a large woody liana. Trubocurare is so named because it was previously only stored in corked bamboo tubes, and is now even exported in tin cans. The strongest poison described, pumpkin, as the name implies, is stored in small pumpkins and is made from poisonous chilibuha.
Specific impact
How does this mysterious toxin work and why do the Indians of South America eat animals killed with it without fear, which terrified the Europeans? At the slightest scratch with an arrow or other weapon smeared with arrow poison, it penetrates the bloodstream and blocks the muscles responsible for breathing. As a result, death occurs from suffocation. Now both the tree itself, from which curare poison is extracted, and the composition of this priceless toxin have been studied in detail. The studied actions exerted by it on the organism of animals allowed scientists to find antidotes (neostigmine and physostigmine).
Indispensable in medicine
The poison of trychnos toxifera is actively used in medicine. Claude Bernard in 1844 proved the peripheral effect of arrow poison, the central nervous system was not affected. Thus, this toxin turned out to be an invaluable drug for carrying out the most complex operations requiring muscle relaxation - complete relaxation of the muscles.
In the 20s of the last century, the Italian Bove managed to obtain a synthetic poison - gallamine. It is also used to treat Parkinson's disease. Not dangerous for the human gastrointestinal tract and food prepared from animals killed with the poison strychnos toxifera. On the contrary, food prepared from such living creatures is considered a delicacy, because it is unusually tender and fresh.
Treasures of South America
Thus, among the priceless treasures brought to Europe from South America, such as cocoa and potatoes, tobacco and tomatoes, sweet hot peppers, curare poison can rightly be counted. The tree from which this priceless product is obtained grows not only in tropical forests South America. Its range extends to the South and East Asia, to Northern Australia and Africa. The fruits of this tree are harvested after their full ripening in October-November.
aconine plant
In addition to trees and vines that serve as suppliers of a rare toxin, there is also a flower that replaces curare poison. Its name is aconite, or wrestler. A very strong poison is extracted from its roots, with which the Indians of the Digaroa tribe (India) lubricate the tips of weapons in the same way and for the same purposes. The root is very poisonous - in our country, among a dozen names, there is also a wolf slayer. And the ancient Greek legend says that a flower grew from the poisonous saliva of Cerberus, which, at the sight sunlight(12th feat of Hercules) began to break out of the powerful hands of the hero, pouring furious foam all around near the city of Akoni. According to the poisoning effect on the animal's body, a parallel is drawn between it and the poison of strychnos toxifera. Even 1/5 milligram of this poison is enough to cause severe poisoning.
Other poisonous plants
To these two plant poisons, you can add the toxin of cornflower, hemlock and larkspur. All of them resemble the effect that curare poison has on the body. From what tree can you still get this toxin? The strongest poison is obtained from a large woody liana with a stiff trunk reaching 10 cm in diameter - strychnos toxifera schomb. It is used to make pumpkin curare. The strongest poison has a consistency close to solid. All poisons are prepared on fire, and only sorcerers get this right. Of course, all this applies only to wild tribes. But the most famous supplier of ingredients is the chilibuha - a tropical deciduous, no more than 15 meters high, evergreen tree. Curare poison, shrouded in secrets and legends, known throughout the world, in most cases is obtained from it.
Curare poison is a legendary substance that was feared by all, without exception, the colonizers of South America in the 16th century. It was enough to get the slightest scratch from the arrows of the natives to die strange and mysterious death. Over time, the secret of curare, which was hidden by the locals, was revealed and now this substance is used to save lives, not take them.
Composition and application of curare
The South American Guianan Indians have long learned to use the flora that thrives in the Amazon to make it easier for them to hunt animals and birds. Plants such as the liana Chondrodendron tomentosum and the evergreen tree Strychnos toxifera helped them in this. These are the 2 main sources of curare, however, very often compositions of toxins obtained from other poisonous plants and animals that had a similar effect were added to the mixture.
The basis of the poison was made from crushed parts of the plant, which were boiled over low heat. After adding all the necessary components, a poisonous adhesive mixture was obtained with the color, smell and consistency of the resin. Small arrows made from palm leaves were smeared with it, and they were sent to the target with the help of a bamboo tube.
Investigation of poison by Europeans
Almost 100 years after the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors first entered the territory of the Guianna Indians, the English traveler Walter Raleigh was able to see and test the effects of curare without death.
In 1617 he entered the Orinoco jungle with a native guide. Noticing an unusual way of hunting and a weapon that killed animals even with the slightest injury, he tried to independently explore the curare. A couple of drops of poison that got into the blood led to a prolonged loss of consciousness.
A little later, the Frenchman Charles Marie de la Condamin visited the Amazon basin. He was able to steal samples of the poison and the technology of its preparation from the Indians, and then bring the secret of curare to Europe. But until the middle of the 19th century, scientists could not accurately explain the action of the poison and find out from which tree it was obtained. Only Claude Bernard, having received a sample of curare from Napoleon III, was able to give the first answers to these questions.
And since 1942, thanks to the Canadians Harald Griffith and Enid Johnson, it was found out that curare is a poison that can save lives. Thanks to their research, muscle relaxants appeared in physicians.
Types of curare
There are 3 varieties of this substance. They were prepared from different compositions of toxins and used for various purposes. These subspecies of curare are known as pipe curare, pot curare and gourd curare, reflecting the storage methods. Only tribal shamans had the right to make them. All other natives only used this tool for hunting and military operations.
Curare is divided into subspecies as follows:
- Tubo-curare is a pipe poison. It was stored in hollow bamboo stems 25 cm long. This is the main type of toxin, it was prepared from the root of Chondrodendron tomentosum. The Indians used this poison to lubricate arrows - hitting a small amount of the substance was enough to kill small animals.
- Pot curare. This species gave the poison its name. "Curare" translates as "Bird Poison". It was this type of toxin that was stored in clay pots that was used to hunt feathered animals. It was not used for lubricating arrows. In order not to scare away the birds with whistling and air vibrations, the Indians used small darts blown through a tube. They silently wounded and quickly killed the prey of the hunter. This curare poison is obtained from Strychnos castelniaeana and varieties
- Calabash curare. It was this poison that terrified the Spaniards of the 16th century. This is a military version of the poison, which was stored in pumpkin fruits. It was used against large and dangerous animals, as well as people. This curare was applied to arrows and spears. One scratch left by such a weapon was enough to paralyze and quickly but painfully kill any enemy. The bark of Strychnos toxifera was used to prepare this poison.
The Guianan Indians always knew exactly when and what kind of poison to use. By controlling the dosage and composition of curare, they could simply immobilize the enemy or instantly kill him.
Why is curare so dangerous?
If you find a tree from which curare poison is obtained and taste any part of this plant, then it is unlikely that you will be poisoned. Moreover, even after all the manipulations of the shaman, the contents of pots, pumpkins and pipes can be almost safely eaten in any quantity.
The secret is that the poison does not enter the body through the mucous membranes. Therefore, poisoned prey can be safely eaten, enjoying curare as a spice that turns meat into a delicacy, giving it tenderness and a fresh aroma.
To have an effect on the body, the toxin must go directly into the body. circulatory system. It is in this case that tubocurarine, the main active ingredient of curare, has a paralyzing effect.
The action of the poison is aimed at relaxing and paralyzing the muscles. At the same time, the central nervous system is not affected, that is, the affected animal and person continue to feel and perceive everything that happens to him.
Death usually occurs because the muscles of the respiratory system relax. Asphyxiation can only be prevented with artificial respiration. It must be continued until the kidneys remove most of the curare from the body.
The secret of such an unusual effect of the poison lies in the fact that it is not muscles or nerves that are affected. Curare only blocks the signal from neurons at the moment of its transmission to muscle fibers. Thus, the orders of the brain simply do not reach the "addressee".
The use of the substance in medicine
Thanks to numerous studies, scientists were eventually able to find substances that can suppress the effects of "bird venom". They are called Neostigmine and Physostigmine. You can also use any cholinesterase inhibitors for these purposes. But the use of curare for medicinal purposes has become much more interesting for physicians.
This idea is not new. South American Indian shamans often used curare for compresses and instead of diuretics. Modern scientists use poison to relax the muscles, which makes it easier to perform surgical operations when increased tone muscles.
In addition, in the 1920s, the Italian scientist Beauvais was able to create less dangerous variety Curare is a substance called gallamine. The action of this poison is easier to control and can be used with less risk to the health of patients. Gallamine is now a well-known treatment for Parkinson's disease.
The efforts of modern physicians are aimed at creating tablets that have the effect of curare. Elatin and Condelfin are taken orally for the treatment of tetanus, hyperkinesis, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. At the same time, paralysis of the respiratory system occurs last, so the danger to human life during the treatment course is minimal.