![]() ![]() Although today it is easy to test for, so don’t get any wild ideas (there have been multiple convictions of people who killed or attempted to kill others by aconitum. In the past, it was difficult to detect poisoning by aconitine, similar to arsenic. It has frequently been hidden in food or drink to poison victims. The plant is infamous for being used as an intentional poison, for both animals and people. There are lots of stories of accidental poisonings, usually from drinking a tea made from the plant (examples: Poison Control, Forbes, more reading below). We have lots of other fever reducers and pain killers today, I’d highly suggest using one that has less of a chance of killing you. Due to it being difficult to process and get the dosage correct, the use of monkshood as a medicine frequently leads to accidental poisoning. Typically the roots would be processed by soaking and boiling to reduce the alkaloid content. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, aconitine was even available in pharmacies. ![]() It has been used historically to treat pain and fever. It’s worth mentioning that there are claims of therapeutic effects of monkshood, especially in traditional Chinese medicine. Death is most often from refractory ventricular arrhythmia, or “electrical storm” in the heart and flatline. It may also cause hypotension and a slow heart rate by activation of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. Neurological symptoms include numbness of the face and limbs and muscle weakness. Other symptoms of aconitine poisoning include strong contractions of the ileum of the lower intestines due to the release of acetylcholine from the postganglionic cholinergic nerves, leading to intense abdominal discomfort and pain as well as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It binds to the receptors that govern the sodium channel, keeping them always open or in the “on” state. The compound aconitine blocks the sodium-ion channels which help govern the voltage of muscles, myocardium, and neurons, leading to heart dysrhythmia that can lead to death. While the entire plant is poisonous, the roots have the highest concentration of the toxin. Ingestion of aconitine causes nerve paralysis, low blood pressure, ventricular arrhythmia, and heart failure. It has documented use as a poison by the Inupiat. napellus was also known as “wolfsbane” because it was used as a nerve poison to kill wolves (typically put in raw meat as bait). contain the alkaloid toxins aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine, and others. May even cause paraesthesia from skin contact, although not common. The whole plant is highly toxic to people and animals, as are all species in the genus aconitum. Monkshood looks similar to Larkspur, except with a narrower stem and a “hood” over the top of the purple to dark-blue flower.įor information only (typically historical) – I take no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plant. The entire flower is 2-4 cm tall from the bottom of the pendant sepals to the top of the hood. The lower two sepals are flat and slightly pointed at the tip, the 2 lateral sepals are kidney-shaped, forming the tube, and the upper sepal is the beaked crescent-shaped hood. The flower is slightly tubular, composed of 5 outer sepals and two petals that are hidden in the upper sepal hood. The blossoms are green or green-yellow before developing the purple color. The flowers are purple or dark blue, bilaterally symmetric, and distributed on raceme or panicle inflorescence of 3-15 flowers near the top of the stem. The leaves are alternate, cauline, 7-13 cm (3-5 in) in width, and have five deeply divided lobes, each containing three smaller lobes. Taller plants require other companion plants to remain upright. The plant grows erect, 0.3-1 m (1-3 ft) high from a narrow stem. The tuber is typically composed of a parent tuber and a single, continuous daughter tuber, connected by a short branch. delphiniifolium is a perennial herb growing from tuberous roots.
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