Botanical species · safety record

Strychnos nux-vomica

The EFSA Compendium of Botanicals holds 10 constituent measurements and 9 adverse-effect records for Strychnos nux-vomica. This page reports what those source records contain and how to reach them. It carries no effect estimate, no dose and no recommendation.

Accepted name in source: Strychnos nux-vomica L.

10Constituent measurements
9Safety records
9Cited sources
28Licensed products (Canada)

Regulatory presence

Health Canada's Licensed Natural Health Products Database holds 28 licensed products naming Strychnos nux-vomica as a medicinal ingredient, matched on the exact Latin binomial. A licence records that a product met the regulator's requirements for sale in Canada. It is not evidence that the product works.

Extract types on licence

  • Dry

Source material stated

  • Coarsely powdered seeds
  • Coarsly powdered seeds
  • Dried ripe seeds
  • Dried seed
  • Dried seed(s)
  • Grain(s)
  • Seed(s)
  • Seeds coarsely powdered

What the records describe

Constituents measured

  • Brucine2
  • Strychnine2
  • Alpha-colubrine1
  • Beta-colubrine1
  • Icajine1
  • Indole alkaloids1
  • Novacine1
  • Vomicine1

Plant parts

  • Seed12
  • Bark4
  • Aerial part of plants1
  • Leaves1
  • Unspecified1

Preparations

  • Solvent extraction15
  • Raw, no heat treatment1

Effect types

  • Neurotoxicity4
  • Systemic3
  • Nephrotoxicity1
  • Not reported1

Target tissues

  • Urogenital: kidneys4
  • Neurologic2
  • Cardiovascular1
  • Muscle, skeletal1
  • haematological1

Recorded constituents

What analytical work has found in this species, at which plant part and preparation. A measured constituent is a fact about material, not about effect.

SubstancePlant partPreparationConcentrationAnalytical methodSource
BrucineSeedSolvent extraction0.16 PercentGelpermeation, High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC)Resolve DOI
StrychnineSeedSolvent extraction0.175 PercentGelpermeation, High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC)Resolve DOI
Alpha-colubrineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
Beta-colubrineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
BrucineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
IcajineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
Indole alkaloidsSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
NovacineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
StrychnineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier
VomicineSeedSolvent extraction—HPLC-MS/MSNo resolvable identifier

Recorded adverse effects

Adverse effects reported in the source literature, most often in animal or laboratory models at a stated preparation and dose.

EffectTarget tissuePlant partPreparationTest organismTest typeSource
SystemicCardiovascular / haematologicalUnspecified—Human (as organism)Case reportResolve DOI
NephrotoxicityUrogenital: kidneysBarkSolvent extractionHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
NeurotoxicityUrogenital: kidneysBarkSolvent extractionHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
NeurotoxicityNeurologicBarkSolvent extractionHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
NeurotoxicityUrogenital: kidneysSeedSolvent extractionHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
NeurotoxicityUrogenital: kidneysAerial part of plants—Human (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
Not reported—Seed—House mouse (as animal)Acute toxicityNo resolvable identifier
SystemicMuscle, skeletalLeavesRaw, no heat treatmentHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier
SystemicNeurologicBarkSolvent extractionHuman (as organism)Case reportNo resolvable identifier

Cited sources

The literature the compendium cites for this species. Metatron Health has no relationship with these authors or journals and earns nothing from citing them.

  1. Achappa, Basavaprabhu., Madi, Deepak., Babu, Y P Raghavendra., Mahalingam, Soundarya. Rituals can kill - A fatal case of brucine poisoning.. The australasian medical journal, 2012, vol. 5, no. 8, p. 421-3.
  2. Dasari, Sowjanya., Naha, Kushal. A rare case of strychnine poisoning by consumption of Strychnos nux-vomica leaves . Asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2011, vol. 1, no. 2, p. S303-S304.
  3. Gicquel, T., Lepage, S., Baert, A., Morel, I. Case report: Concerning strychnine poisoning by Nux vomica mother tincture Cas clinique: � propos d'une intoxication � la strychnine par la teinture m�re Nux vomica . Annales de toxicologie analytique, 2012, vol. 24, no. 1, p. 33-37. DOI
  4. Gopalkrishna, S.V., Lakshminarsu, M., Ramachandra Setty, S. Effect of purification (sodhana) on the acute toxicity of seeds of nux-vomica. Pharmacologyonline, 2009, vol. 3, p. 1015-1024.
  5. Karthik Rao, N., Nayak, V.C., James, R.I., Patil, N., Rao, R., Jaunky, C., Ahmed, T. Survival after strychnine poisoning: A case report. Research journal of pharmaceutical, biological and chemical sciences, 2016, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 1769-1771.
  6. Kidiyoor, Y., Rai, S., Bakkannavar, S.M., Nayak, V.C., James, R.I., Saravu, K. Rhabdomyolysis and strychnine poisoning: A case report. Research journal of pharmaceutical, biological and chemical sciences, 2016, vol. 7, no. 6, p. 45-47.
  7. Naik, B Sadananda., Chakrapani, M. A rare case of brucine poisoning complicated by rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. . The malaysian journal of pathology, 2009, vol. 31, no. 1, p. 67-9.
  8. Anwar, Noman., Khan, Masood Shah., Kabir, Hifzul., Ahmad, Sayeed. Effect of detoxification (tadbeer) in content of toxic metabolites of Strychnos nux-vomica: A Unani approach for its use in human . Journal of pharmacy and bioallied sciences, 2015, vol. 7, no. 4, p. 314-316. DOI
  9. Li, Shujuan., Zhang, Meiyu., Hou, Pengyi., Zhang, Ruowen., Hou, Chenzhi., Bi, Kaishun., Chen, Xiaohui. Identification of the toxic components in Semen Strychni and their metabolites in rat serum by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a Q Exactive high-resolution benchtop quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Rsc advances, 2015, vol. 5, no. 95, p. 77689-77698.

Boundary

A constituent measurement is a fact about material at a stated preparation, not a statement about what that material does in a person. An adverse-effect or genotoxicity record is an observation reported in a source, most often in an animal or laboratory model. Neither is a Metatron Health conclusion about causality, human risk or benefit, and the absence of a record is not proof that a preparation is safe. Nothing here is diagnosis, prescribing or individual medical care.

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