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Medicines for Weakness: 1900 to c. 1950
Published in John K. Crellin, A Social History of Medicines in the Twentieth Century, 2020
Weakness, too, could be described as "asthenia," particularly among physicians. This was a legacy of the classification of diseases by the reactionary eighteenth-century Scottish physician John Brown. Brown divided diseases into two broad categories: asthenic diseases (viewed as a deficiency of natural energy or excitability) and sthenic (in which the body had an excess of excitability). Asthenic conditions, characterized by weakness, were to be treated by stimulants such as a solid diet and medications, of which Brown favored opium, camphor, musk, and ether.16 By the early twentieth century this Brunonian classification system had become outmoded, but a few medical textbooks and journal articles continued to refer to asthenia until the 1920s. Suggested treatments focused on "nervous excitants" or stimulants such as tincture of nux vomica (containing strychnine) and arsenious chloride.17 Other texts ignored the concept or used the term to define particular states, for example, asthenic pneumonia.18
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Published in Anton Sebastian, A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, 2018
Nux Vomica Seed from Strychnos Nux-vomica, a plant indigenous to India and the Malay archipelago, was introduced into medicine by the Arabs. The first description was given by Valerius Cordus (1515–1554) of Hesse in 1540, and De Nuce Vomica giving an account of its toxic effects on animals, was published by J. Lossius in 1682. It was used in England in the 17th century as a pest poison. The poisonous action is due to the alkaloids, brucine and strychnine. Brucine was isolated from bark by French pharmacist, Pierre Joseph Pelletier (1788–1842), in 1819.
Abies Spectabilis (D. Don) G. Don (Syn. A. Webbiana Lindl.) Family: Coniferae
Published in L.D. Kapoor, Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants, 2017
Medicinal properties and uses — Powdered nux vomica seeds are used in the treatment of dyspepsia and diseases of the nervous system. It is used as a remedy in chronic dysentery, atonic diarrhea, paralytic and neuralgic affections, mental emotion, epilepsy, chronic constipation from atony of bowels, prolapsus of the rectum, gout, chronic rheumatism, and hydrophobia. In neuralgia of the face and gastralgia, in sexual impotence, spasmodic diseases as nausea of pregnancy, and epilepsy, its effects are well marked. Nux vomica is also useful in functional paralysis due to anemia of the cord, general exhaustion, spermatorrhea, and incontinence of urine in children. Leaves of nux vomica are applied as poultice to sloughing wounds or ulcers infested with maggots. Root bark ground into a fine paste with lime juice and made into pills is effectual in cholera. Seeds with some aromatics are prescribed in colic. Wood is used for dysentery, fevers, and dyspepsia.50
Antioxidant and cytoprotective properties of loganic acid isolated from seeds of Strychnos potatorum L. against heavy metal induced toxicity in PBMC model
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Alagarsamy Abirami, Simran Sinsinwar, Perumal Rajalakshmi, Pemaiah Brindha, Yamajala B. R. D. Rajesh, Vellingiri Vadivel
Based on antioxidant potential, CF-7 was considered as the active fraction, which was transparent and waxy in nature (Figure 3(A)) and showed single spot in TLC with ethyl acetate/methanol (50/50 ratio) solvent combination (Figure 3(B)). This fraction was subjected to LC-MS/MS analysis and only one signal at a retention time 2.97 min was observed in liquid chromatogram with a molecular mass of 375.23 m/z (Figure 3(C,D)). The mass of parent ion (375.40 m/z) and daughter ion (213.20 m/z) were matched with mass bank data and identified as loganic acid (C16H24O10). Loganic acid belongs to groups of terpenes called iridoids. It is a precursor for production of major indole alkaloids in plants such as Strychnos nux-vomica (Guarnaccia et al. 1970, Zhang et al. 2003), Cornus mas (Sozanski et al. 2015) and Cantharanthus roseus (Guarnaccia et al. 1970). The structure of loganic acid was confirmed by 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra (Supplementary Figure S1 and S2). The proton and 13 C NMR spectra were compared with a previously reported spectrum of loganic acid, which was isolated from Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) by Zhang et al. (2003).
Encephalitis lethargica in Peru
Published in Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 2021
Santiago Stucchi-Portocarrero, Miguel Humberto Tomas-Miranda
The patient underwent treatment with “urotropic medication via the gastric route and intravenously while using tincture of ‘nuez uvínica2’”The original Spanish text includes the term tintura de nuez uvínica. We have not found information on this treatment; however, it is possible that González-Olaechea was referring to tintura de nuez vómica (tincture of nux vomica), which Ricaldoni included within the options of medicación tónica (invigorating medication), that also included quina (cinchona) and aromatic alcoholates (Ricaldoni 1923, 106). (González-Olaechea 1922, 89). On January 17, he was “in full use of his intellectual faculties and in condition to leave the hospital completely recovered on January 31” (González-Olaechea 1922, 89).
Gold nano particles synthesized from Strychni semen and its anticancer activity in cholangiocarcinoma cell (KMCH-1)
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2019
Yuehua Li, Yang Ke, Hao Zou, Kun Wang, Songquan Huang, Thamaraiselvan Rengarajan, Lin Wang
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is referred to as bile duct cancer instigated from the biliary tract epithelium. CCA is extremely hard to identify awaiting the disease development to the highly developed phase [11]. CCA is the second universal most important liver cancer worldwide, annually 1500 mortality cases due to this prime liver cancer in the United Kingdom. Conspicuously, the occurrence of CCA is mounting globally for unidentified reasons [12]. Too much of smoking, consumption of alcohol, exposure to fatty foods which results in obesity have not been time after time exposed to augmented menace, even though a small involvement cannot subsist to lined away [13]. Routine exploitation of persuaded phytochemicals, able to diminish the danger and improvement of specific cancers [14]. Strychni Semen, the seed of S. nux-vomica (Loganiaceae), generally known as “Ma qian zi” in China and used as folk medicine. Strychni Semen extracts are employed as a traditional medicine for the treatment of lung, stomach and esophagal cancers in Korea [15].