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Manic episode
Published in Dinesh Kumar Jain, Homeopathy, 2022
From the above discussion, we can conclude that in manic patients, Hahnemann wrongly observed that by giving veratrum, patients are improving, and by giving veratrum, patients get an attack of mania. The second point in favor of our argument is that veratrum alkaloid does not produce any psychological and neurological effects when given to healthy persons. Hahnemann observed an attack of mania in these patients after giving veratrum, who were already suffering from mania. Once a patient has suffered from mania, there are chances that he will again get an episode of mania. It is a normal cycle. He concluded wrongly that it was veratrum that is responsible for recurrence of manic episodes. Veratrum has no psychological effect. Protoveratrine A and B, alkaloids of veratrum, “on oral administration 1 to 25 mg daily in divided doses is effective in lowering the blood pressure in about 1/3 of the patients with hypertension. Unless dosage is regulated carefully toxic effects such as nausea, vomiting, hiccough, severe hypotension, bradycardia or even heart block appear” (Krantz & Carr, 1965, p. 692). Veratrum does not cause mania or depression.
Eclampsia
Published in Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women, 2020
However, it was Bryant (1935) who really popularized the use of veratrum (with magnesium sulfate) recording a maternal death rate of 9.9%. In a later report (Bryant and Fleming, 1940 p. 1333) he reported a maternal mortality of only 1.6% for a purified extract of Veratrum viride, marketed as veratrone. In their Evaluation of Modern Treatments of EclampsiaStern and Burnett (1954 p. 590–601) recorded the results of 1718 cases managed by sedation, sedation and hypotension (bromethol) or hypotension (veratrone) and found that the latter was superior, with a maternal mortality of 1.81% and perinatal mortality of 28%. The drug was later abandoned due to its unpredictable effect on the blood pressure.
Afferent Innervation of Lungs, Airways, and Pulmonary Artery
Published in Irving H. Zucker, Joseph P. Gilmore, Reflex Control of the Circulation, 2020
Hazel M. Coleridge, John C.G. Coleridge
Like mechanoreceptors in the somatic nervous system, slowly adapting receptors in the lower respiratory tract are generally insensitive to chemical irritants. Veratrum alkaloids increase their activity, and in sufficient doses cause high-frequency bursts of discharge that disrupt the normal firing pattern; however, veratrum alkaloids increase Na+ permeability, and cause repetitive activity in many types of excitable membrane, so that these effects do not provide evidence for a significant degree of chemical sensitivity. High concentrations of volatile anesthetics sensitize the receptors briefly and then abolish their discharge (see Coleridge and Coleridge, 1986). In rabbits, inhalation of SO2 abolishes their discharge selectively and has been a useful means for investigating the contribution of slowly adapting receptors to ventilatory reflexes in this species (see Coleridge and Coleridge, 1986). In other species, however, the effects of SO2 are less consistent, although occasional receptors are inhibited if concentrations are very high. Slowly adapting receptors are stimulated neither by autocoids such as bradykinin and the prostaglandins nor by foreign chemicals (e.g., capsaicin) that are used extensively to investigate the reflex potentialities of nonmyelinated vagal afferents (see below).
Plant identification applications do not reliably identify toxic and edible plants in the American Midwest
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2023
Kevan Long, Andrew Townesmith, Alex Overmiller, Wendy Applequist, Anthony Scalzo, Paula Buchanan, Cindy C. Bitter
Plants were correctly identified to the genus level in 76% of trials, and only 58% of plants were correctly identified to the species level. Identification of the genus level may be sufficient to prevent inadvertent toxicity from foraged foods. PictureThis outperformed the other apps but did misidentify two of the toxic species, Nothoscordum and Orinthogolum. This study included several edible plants with potentially toxic look-alikes. Nothoscordum bivalve (false garlic, crow poison) may be mistaken for Allium spp. (wild onion), and Conium maculatum (poison hemlock) is similar to Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace). Foraging misadventures appear to be particularly common when foraging for Allium spp. [4,5,14,16,18,20,26,30] and wild asparagus [4,5,28]. Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) may be mistaken for Allium spp. but contains colchicine which causes profuse vomiting and diarrhea, culminating in hypovolemic shock and multisystem organ failure. Veratrum spp. causes a digitalis-like syndrome with bradycardia, hypotension, and gastrointestinal distress, it may also be mistaken for Allium spp. Fortunately, plants of the Allium family have a characteristic onion-like odor, which may aid in identification.
Veratramine ameliorates pain symptoms in rats with diabetic peripheral neuropathy by inhibiting activation of the SIGMAR1-NMDAR pathway
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Yu Zhang, Guangyao Ye, Yuebo Chen, Chaoxu Sheng, Jianlin Wang, Lingsi Kong, Liyong Yuan, Chunyan Lin
Veratrum nigrum Linn. (Melanthiaceae), a perennial herb, has a rich clinical history in Europe, Asia, and North America (Chandler and McDougal 2014). Dadix Veratri, mainly derived from Veratrum nigrum, is one of the primary components of the formulation of the traditional Chinese medicine of ‘Yunnan Baiyao’ and the main drug of the protected traditional Chinese medicine ‘Yizhi Zhitong Pill’. Veratramine is one of the main extracts of Dadix Veratri (Lyu et al. 2016). Veratramine is a known natural steroid alkaloid found in various Liliaceae plants (Li et al. 2019). Due to the vital role of Dadix Veratri in analgesia, we hypothesised that veratramine might also play an essential role in analgesia. Previous studies by Li et al. (2016, 2019) showed that veratramine has strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Although the authors demonstrated that the main analgesic ingredient of veratrum was veratramine (Li et al. 2016, 2019), they did not provide an in-depth discussion on the specific analgesic mechanism of veratramine.
Veratrum parviflorum poisoning: identification of steroidal alkaloids in patient blood and breast milk
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2022
Jared T. Seale, Joseph E. Carpenter, Matthew D. Eisenstat, Emily A. Kiernan, Brent W. Morgan, Daniel P. Nogee, Xinzhu Pu, Colin A. Therriault, Michael Yeh, Owen M. McDougal
Despite recognition as an ingredient in potent traditional medicines, the history of Veratrum spp. is rife with accidental poisoning. Veratrum intoxication is most often due to inadvertent consumption as a result of misidentification during foraging [11–19]. Cases of V. viride poisoning are reported to have occurred due to mistaking the plant for Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage), Phytolacca americana (pokeweed), Allium ampeloprasum (wild onion), and Allium tricoccum (ramps) [12,13,15]. Likewise, V. album, a species most prominently found in northern Eurasia and localized regions of Alaska, is reported to have been misidentified as Allium ursinum (wild onion) and Gentiana lutea (yellow gentian) [16,19]. Most cases of poisoning manifest with symptoms including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and a Bezold-Jarisch reflex (bradycardia, hypopnea, and hypotension). Patients with mild symptoms typically respond well to symptomatic and supportive treatments with intravenous fluids and antiemetics, but those with symptomatic bradycardia or hypotension may require treatment with atropine or vasopressors [11–19].