196 MALAY POISONS AND CHAEM CUBES 



In an important trial held in London (Rex v. Crippm, 

 1910) the accused was sentenced to death for poisoning 

 his wife by means of hyoscine. Portions of the body 

 had been bm-ied from four to eight months and were 

 found to contain an alkaloid. This alkaloid proved to 

 be mydriatic (by the physiological test on a cat's eyes) ; 

 positive to Vitah's test, i.e., a purple-violet colour when 

 treated vnth. nitric acid and potash successively ; non- 

 crystalline under the microscope, and the gummy 

 residue gave round spheres with hydrobromic acid. 

 Hyoscine gives these spheres, while atropine and 

 hyoscyamine both give needle-shaped crystals. The 

 amount of alkaloid was estimated : stomach, ^ grain ; 

 one kidney, grain ; intestines, } grain ; and liver, 

 ^ grain— total found, f grain. Some people are more 

 susceptible to hyoscine than others ; but J to J grain 

 is a fatal dose. 



Apart from the peculiarities of the deliiium caused 

 by datura, the most characteristic symptoms of poison- 

 ing are the same as those caused by atropine— namely, 

 paralysis of the salivary nerves, leading to dryness of 

 the mouth ; paralysis of the third nerve, causing 

 dilatation of the pupils, with derangement of vision; 

 and paralysis of the inhibitory fibres of the vagus in the 

 heart, causing, sometimes, very rapid action. 



Use as a Medicine. — The root, flowers, and especially 

 the leaves, of kechnbong hiiam and k. puteh are used by 

 Malays as medicines (see Chapter VI, p. 115). The 

 leaves, as well as a tinctm-e made of the seeds of Datura 

 fastuosa, Linn,, var. alba, Nees, are official preparations 

 of the British Pharmacopceia of 1914. 



DfiPU PfiLANDOK 



D^u fUandolc is a moderate-sized shrub growing by 

 village waysides and belonging to the natural order 



