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Aconite: Ethnopharmacological Benefits and Toxicity
Published in Megh R. Goyal, Durgesh Nandini Chauhan, Assessment of Medicinal Plants for Human Health, 2020
Yogini S. Jaiswal, Leonard L. Williams
Aconite is considered as an important pillar of the legacy of TCM. A. kusnezoffii and A. carmichaelii are the two most widely used species, grown in the northern and south-west parts of China.34 The growth areas include provinces of Hunan, Sichuan and Hubei, and certain regions around Jiangyou. In TCM, aconite is used for the treatment of diarrhea, colds, arthralgia, cardiac problems, and edema.17
Brief History and Use of Chemical Warfare Agents in Warfare and Terrorism
Published in Brian J. Lukey, James A. Romano, Salem Harry, Chemical Warfare Agents, 2019
Harry Salem, Andrew L. Ternay Jr., Jeffery K. Smart
Around 50 CE, Nero eliminated his enemies with cherry laurel water that contained hydrocyanic acid (Hickman, 1999). Plutarch described irritating smokes in some of his writings around 46–120 CE. In 1000, the Mongols used gas bombs made of sulfur, niter, oil, aconite, powdered charcoal, wax, and resin. These bombs weighed about 5 pounds each. Aconite was a favorite poison, which is derived from the perennial herb of the genus Aconitum. It is in the buttercup family and is also known as monkshood and wolfsbane. Aconite (Aconitum napellus) is an alkaloid acting on the central nervous system, heart, and skin. It first stimulated and then paralyzed the nerves and heart. The effects began with a tingling of the mouth, fingers, and toes and then spread over the entire body surface. Body temperature dropped quickly and was followed by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Fatal doses were marked by intense pain, irregular breathing, and a slowed and irregular heartbeat. Death resulted from heart failure or asphyxiation. Aconite was used as a poison on arrowheads and to taint enemy water supplies and as a poison by Indian courtesans when they applied it as a lipstick as the “Kiss of Death” (PDR Health, 2006).
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Published in Anton Sebastian, A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, 2018
AconiteAconitium napellus, commonly called wolfsbane, blue rocket or monkshood. Named after the Black Sea port of Aconis. The plant has been in use for medicinal purposes from ancient times in China and India and the Gauls used the alkaloid extract (aconitine) as an arrow poison and the Romans learnt its use from them. Nicander, around 100 BC, proposed quicklime and honey as an antidote for aconitine. Apothecaries in England used it as a medicine in the 12th century and it was included in the pharmacopoeia for its poisonous nature as well as for its medicinal values in 1615. Roots and leaves were used up to the 19th century for various medical purposes, including the common cold, apoplexy and as an antipyretic. The first murder trial in England because of aconitine poisoning took place in 1881. See Lamson, George Henry.
Bullatine A exerts anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the ROS/JNK/NF-κB pathway and attenuating systemic inflammatory responses in mice
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Shuhan Liu, Na Che, Wen Ou, Meichen Yan, Yajin Liao, Yong Cheng
Phytopharmaceuticals have gained increasing attention worldwide because of their beneficial role in treating a variety of human diseases and the presence of a large number of natural compounds with various chemical properties (Khan et al. 2018). Preparations of the Aconitum genus (Ranunculaceae) have been extensively used to treat and prevent multiple diseases, including pain and neurological and cardiovascular diseases in China and other Asian countries (Li J et al. 2013). In China, approximately 76 Aconitum species are used as medicinal plants based on their toxicity and side effects, therapeutic effects, and phytochemical properties (Ren et al. 2012; Wang and Li 2020). Aconiti brachypodi Radix (Xue-shang-yi-zhi-hao), the dried roots of Aconitum brachypodum Diels and several other morphologically similar Aconitum species, was listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia in 1977 for the treatment of rheumatism and pain (China Pharmacopoeia Committee 1977; Huang et al. 2016).
Four experimental stimulants found in sports and weight loss supplements: 2-amino-6-methylheptane (octodrine), 1,4-dimethylamylamine (1,4-DMAA), 1,3-dimethylamylamine (1,3-DMAA) and 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (1,3-DMBA)
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2018
Pieter A. Cohen, John C. Travis, Peter H. J. Keizers, Patricia Deuster, Bastiaan J. Venhuis
Several supplement labels listed the stimulant as if it were an extract or a constituent of Aconitum kusnezoffii. Aconitum is a genus of flowering plants, commonly referred to as monkshood, found in the Northern hemisphere. Some species of Aconitum have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cardiac insufficiency and other conditions [20]. However, we could find no scientific evidence that 1,4-DMAA had ever been detected in, or extracted from, Aconitum kusnezoffii. 1,4-DMAA has been reported to be a constituent of two plants (Datura stramonium [jimson weed] and Pelargonium graveolens [a geranium]), one bacteria (Bacillus atrophaeus) and a degradation product of corn [21–26]. The majority of these studies [23–26] are tentative identifications, which used gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) library matches only. However, two studies reportedly confirmed the presence of low levels of 1,4-DMAA in samples from the geranium Pelargonium graveolens (notably both of these studies were funded by a single supplement company) [21,22]. Given the quality of research to date, it remains unknown as to whether 1,4-DMAA is actually present in plants or bacteria, and, if so, in what quantities.
Effects of liquorice on pharmacokinetics of aconitine in rats
Published in Xenobiotica, 2019
Yufei He, Zihong Wei, Xiaoyan Ci, Ying Xie, Xiulin Yi, Yong Zeng, Yazhuo Li, Changxiao Liu
The Aconitum plant is a centuries-old herbal medicine, traditionally used in Japan and China for analgesic, antirheumatic and neurological indications (Suzuki et al., 1994). Aconitum alkaloids as the main effective ingredients, however, are with a relatively narrow margin of safety, due to the toxicity (Nyirimigabo et al., 2015; Singhuber et al., 2009). The drug-pair aconite-liquorice was, therefore, commonly used in clinical treatment either enhance its efficacy or reduce the toxicity (He et al., 2013; Yang et al., 2003). Since the chemical composition of herbal medicines is generally rather complicated, the mechanism of compatibility was, therefore, extensively investigated to clarify the rationality for combination use of these two herbs.