Strychnine

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Strychnine
Formula	C₂₁H₂₂N₂O₂
LD₅₀	1 mg/kg
Molecular mass	334.41 g/mol
CAS number	57-24-9
SMILES	[H][C@]([C@@](C(C=CC=C7) =C7N34)5[C@H]6N(CC5)C2)3 [C@@]1([H])[C@@H](C6)[C@] 2=CCO[C@H]1CC4=O

Strychnine (pronounced /strɪkniːn/ (British) or /strɪknaɪn/ (U.S.)) is a very toxic (LD₅₀ = 1 mg/kg), colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually asphyxia or sheer exhaustion. The most common source is from the seeds of the Strychnos nux vomica tree. Strychnine is one of the most bitter substances in the world. Its taste is detectable in concentrations as low as 1 ppm.

Strychnine acts as a blocker or antagonist at the inhibitory or strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor (GlyR), a ligand-gated chloride channel in the spinal cord and the brain.

1 Strychnine poisoning in humans
2 Strychnine poisoning in animals
3 Strychnine in drugs
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Strychnine poisoning in humans

Strychnine poisoning can be fatal to humans, and can be introduced to the body by inhalation, swallowing or absorption through eyes or mouth. It produces some of the best-known, most dramatic, terrifying, and painful symptoms imaginable. For this reason, strychnine poisoning is often used in literature and film.

Ten to twenty minutes after exposure, the body's muscles begin to spasm, starting with the head and neck. The spasms then spread to every muscle in the body, with nearly continuous convulsions, and get worse at the slightest stimulus. They progress, increasing in intensity and frequency until the backbone arches continually. Death comes from asphyxiation caused by paralysis of the brain's breathing apparatus, or by exhaustion from the convulsions. At that time, the body "freezes," even in the middle of a convulsion. Rigor mortis sets in immediately, with the eyes left wide open.

Treatment involves giving depressants, such as intravenous diazepam, to control the convulsions, and giving an activated charcoal infusion to drink, which serves to absorb any poison remaining within the digestive system. If the patient lives 24 hours, recovery is probable.

Small doses of strychnine were sometimes used in over-the-counter medications as a laxative and as a treatment for other stomach ailments; this practice was eventually abandoned with the proliferation of safer alternatives.

[edit] Strychnine poisoning in animals

Strychnine poisoning in animals occurs usually from ingestion of baits designed for use against rodents (especially gophers and moles) and coyotes. Rodents baits are commonly available over-the-counter, but coyote baits are illegal in the United States. However, since 1990 in the United States most baits containing strychnine have been replaced with zinc phosphide baits.<ref name=Ettinger_1995>Ettinger, Stephen J.;Feldman, Edward C. (1995). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 4th ed., W.B. Saunders Company. ISBN 0-7216-6795-3.</ref> The most common domestic animal to be affected is the dog, either through accidental ingestion or intentional poisoning. An approximate lethal dose for a dog is 0.75 mg per kg body weight.<ref name=Beasley>Beasley, V. (1999). Toxicants Associated with Seizures. Veterinary Toxicology. Retrieved on 2006-06-18.</ref> For a 0.3% strychnine bait, five grams could be enough to kill a twenty kilogram dog.

The onset of symptoms is 10 to 120 minutes after ingestion.<ref name=Beasley/> Symptoms include seizures, a "sawhorse" stance, and opisthotonus (rigid extension of all four limbs). Death is usually secondary to respiratory paralysis. Treatment is by detoxification using activated charcoal, pentobarbital for the symptoms, and artificial respiration for apnea.

[edit] Strychnine in drugs

There is a common but false urban legend that strychnine is added to drugs like LSD or that strychnine is present in the peyote cactus. The dose of LSD is so small that it could not be mixed with a toxic amount of strychnine, even if strychnine made up an entire blotter square. See: Strychnine in LSD? (Erowid)

[edit] Trivia

In the 1904 Olympics, Thomas Hicks (USA) won the marathon at St. Louis and collapsed. It took hours to revive him; he had taken brandy mixed with strychnine to help him win his gold medal.

Strychnine is the title of a song by 60s american garage rock band The Sonics (later covered by The Cramps), which includes the lines:

Some folks like the water

Some folks like the wine

I like the taste

Of straight Strychnine

In the movie Office Space, when Milton is at the resort before the credits roll, he is brushed off by a waiter. After muttering a few threats, he says, "I could put strychnine in the guacamole..."