CRIMINAL POISONING 



Cerhera odollam.—C. odollam Gaertner (Apocynaceae) is a very 

 common plant in Ceylon, and is similar to C. thevetia. Its correct 

 name is probably C. manghas Linnaeus, 1753. Its chemical properties 

 have not yet been properly worked out, and it is said that it 

 probably contains the same poisonous principle as C. thevetia — viz., 

 thevetin. The symptoms are nearly the same — gastro-intestinal 

 irritation, followed by cardiac poisoning. These symptoms are easily 

 mistaken for arsenical poisoning. The treatment is the same a-> for 

 irritant poisoning in general. 



Fig. 9. — Cerhera odollam Gaertner. 



Cerbera thevetia. — C. thevetia, the common yellow oleander of 

 India, is a shrub about 6 to 12 feet in height, with yellow bell-shaped 

 flowers and globular green fruit. It is highly poisonous, its action 

 being due to a glucoside, thevetin, which exists in the milky juice 

 pervading all parts of the plant. It is supposed that three seeds 

 are sufficient to kill a man in twelve to fifteen hours, the symptoms 

 being gastro-intestinal irritation, headache, dizziness, and pain in 

 the throat. The pulse is very soft and slow — thirty to forty beats 

 a minute, which Windsor says is characteristic; later it becomes 

 weak, very rapid, and irregular. Death results from cardiac failure. 

 The treatment is the same as for ordinary irritant poisoning. 



Gloriosa superba.- — G. superba (Liliacese) is a well-known poison in 

 India and Ceylon, while in Burma it is said to be used for suicidal 

 purposes. Its active principle, superbine, is said to be allied to, or 



