Tuesday, December 22, 2015

8 Poisonous Plants In India That Can Kill


1. Cerbera odollam or 'Suicide Tree'


The ‘suicide tree’, according to scientific reports, is responsible for killing many people in India both by suicidal and homicidal poisoning. The name of the plant, Cerbera odollam, is derived from Cerberus, the mythical hound with three heads that guards the gates of the underworld and makes sure that the living are barred from entry and the dead are barred from leaving. The plant grows all across India and is quite infamous for its sinister qualities. A scientific team in France, reported that between 1989 and 1999 there were 500 cases of Cerbera poisoning leading to death. In Kerala, half of the deaths due to poisoning are contributed to Cerbera. The kernels of the plant, the most poisonous parts, have an extremely bitter taste. However, if mixed with spices and other spicy foods, it easily disguises the bitterness. The kernels hold the death toxin, cerberin. Cerberin is a cardiotoxin which blocks some ion channels of the heart, stopping the heartbeat. Women are often the victims of homicidal Cerbera poisoning. It is thus believed that many young wives may be killed by their in laws’ families using this death toxin. Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain are the primary symptoms of cerberin poisoning. This is followed by worsening of symptoms like diarrhoea, dilated pupils, heart burning, headache, coma and finally death within 3-6 hours. 

By Jane Wong S.K. (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

2. Datura stramonium

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Datura_stramonium_2_(2005_07_07).jpg


Almost all parts of the Datura plants can kill you. The plant is laden with dangerous poisons like hyoscyamine, atropine and scopolamine, overdose of which could lead to fatal consequences. The symptoms include delirium, amnesia, lowering of heartbeat, hyperthermia, pupil dilation with painful photophobia, bizarre behaviour and at high doses, death. Datura seeds, mixed with food, have been used by servants to kill their employers, wives to kill their husbands, robbers to knock off train passengers and for revenge killing for centuries. 



3. Calotropis gigantea

By Lalithamba from India (Calotropis gigantea R.Br.) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In Usilampatti taluk in Tamil Nadu, women give the newborn milk laced with erukkam paal (sap of Calotropis gigantea). The infant sucks the milk greedily and dies within an hour. Penn-sisu-kolai (girl-baby murder), it’s called. Mothers did this, but more often, mothers-in-law, by mixing pesticides, sleeping pills, rat poison or saps with mother’s milk and feeding it to the newborn girl. What is worse is, there are families which start growing the madar (Calotropis gigantea) right from the time a woman conceives to kill the newborn if it is a girl.




4. Aconitum species

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsbraegarden/221131136

The Aconitum species harbours some of the most potent toxins (aconite and related alkaloids) which are both cardio-toxic and neurotoxic. Consumption of herbal medicines or accidental ingestion of the roots or root tubers of this plant could lead to poisoning. The toxins bind to the voltage sensitive channels on the membranes of myocardium, nerves and muscles resulting in a persistent activation of these channels. This leads to hyperstimulation of the tissues. The symptoms involve numbness in the face and limbs, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, chest pain, nausea and vomitting, abdominal pain, etc. The primary cause of death is cardiac malfunctioning.
5. Gloriosa superba

The Gloriosa superba or Kalihari in Hindi, is a plant infamous for its toxic properties being harnessed to commit murders and suicides. Every part of this plant is laden with toxins. The toxic component of this plant is the colchicine, an alkaloid that is cytotoxic in nature. Within hours of ingestion, the victim experiences symptoms of abdominal pain, bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, respiratory difficulties, low blood pressure, mental status alteration, seizures, coma and finally death. Often the tuberous rhizomes of this plant are confused for sweet potatoes or yams and eaten. Slow poisoning with the toxin can lead to loss of hair including complete balding and continuous vaginal bleeding in women. 


6. Ricinus communis


By H. Zell (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The seeds of Ricinus communis or the castor plant, contains ricin, one of the  most potent toxins of the natural world. The castor bean contains two toxin, the ricin and RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). The former is primarily cytotoxic and the latter is a powerful hemagglutinin (clots blod). However, ricin is the more dangerous toxin as it is easily absorbed by the intestinal wall which is not the case with RCA. One milligram of ricin is potent enough to kill an adult! The symptoms involve nausea and vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, severe dehydration, pain in the abdomen, drop in blood pressure and urine. Often, necklaces are made using castor seeds which must be kept well out of reach of children. Castor seeds swallowed in whole are usually passed out as stool but when chewed or bitten, ricin is released into the body. It is believed that even a single seed can kill a child!



7. Strychnos nux-vomica


Strychnine is an alkaloid poison derived from the Strychnos nux vomica tree. It has been used since the early 16th century as a rodenticide. In the 1900’s, strychnine was responsible for a number of deaths in children. Accidental poisonings, homicide and suicide cases due to strychnine were also widely reported during that time. Today, most cases of strychnine poisoning are due to adulteration of street drugs, homeopathic medications and herbal remedies. Strychnine is also found as a pesticide that kills rats. You may be exposed to the poison through water, food or even inhalation of the fumes. Strychnine prevents the proper functioning of the chemical messenger system of the body, producing painful muscle spasm and in lethal doses, loss of the ability to breather followed by death. Fear and agitation, painful muscle spasms, tight jaws, breathing difficulties and darkened urine are some of the symptoms of strychnine poisoning.

8. Sinopodophyllum hexandrum
By J.M.Garg (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The rhizome of the Himalayan mayapple or Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, contains a resin from which the neurotoxin, podophyllin, can be extracted. Even though this toxin has therapeutic properties in treating genital warts, in higher doses, it can be extremely hazardous to health. In toxic doses, the podophyllin causes severe central nervous system depression, enteritis and even death. Even if this poison is applied topically in lethal or near lethal doses, it can be absorbed into the body, causing fatal reactions and death.

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