206 MALAY POISONS AND CHAEM CUBES 



philtres, or love charms. The practice of administering 

 poison in this manner is not followed in latter times ; 

 but that the idea is not so far eradicated, as entirely to 

 prevent suspicion, appears from this circumstance ; 

 that the guest, though taking a leaf from the betel 

 service of his entertainer, not infrequently appHes to it 

 his own chunam and never omits to pass the former 

 between his thmnb and fore finger, in order to wipe off 

 any extraneous matter. This mistrustful procedure is 

 so common as not to give offence." 



Early in 1921 the Kelantan police sent an exhibit 

 that had been found in the possession of a bad character 

 for examination. It consisted of a small paper packet 

 containing a fine, dull brown powder which on micro- 

 scopical examination appeared to contain fragments of 

 datura seeds and chopped bristles of the hairy sea- worm 

 (ulat hulu laut). A two-ounce medicine bottle con- 

 taining some bad-smelhng water accompanied the paper 

 packet ; this was said to be ayer jerok 'pinang, or water 

 taken from a pickle-jar full of um-ipe f inang nuts. In 

 addition to the stupefying effects of datura the prepara- 

 tion was said to cause loss of voice, Malay women use 

 the young green shoots of the pinang palm as an 

 abortifacient in early pregnancy. 



Several alkaloids have been isolated from the ripe 

 nuts ; they were first examined by Bombelon in 1886, 

 and later by Jalms, who identified arecaidine, arecaine, 

 arecoline, and guavacine, together with choline, all 

 belonging to the pyridine group. Arecoline and its 

 salts are highly toxic. According to Meyer, it belongs 

 to the nicotine-pilocarpine group, and acts on the 

 central and peripheral parts of the nervous system, 

 producing paralysis, which may be preceded by 

 convulsions (Ref. 10). 



