482 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§§ 6l9 — 1 621. 
VIII.—Cicutoxin. 
§ 619. The Cicuta virosa, a not very common umbelliferous plant 
growing in moist places, is extremely poisonous. It is from 3 to 4' feet 
in height, with white flowers ; the umbels are large, the leaves are tri¬ 
partite. the leaflets linear lanceolate acute, serrate decurrent ; the calyx 
has five leaf-like teeth ; the petals are obcordate with an inflex point ; 
the carpels have five equal broad flattened ridges with solitary stripes. 
Bohm 1 succeeded, in 1876, in separating an active principle from this 
plant. The root was dried, powdered, and exhausted with ether ; on 
evaporation of the ether the extract was taken up with alcohol, and after 
several days’ standing the filtrate was treated with petroleum ether; after 
removing the petroleum, the solution was evaporated to dryness in a 
vacuum ; it was found to be a resinous mass, to which was given the 
name cicutoxin. It is fully soluble in alcohol, ether, or chloroform, 
and is very poisonous, but what its exact chemical nature may be is 
still unknown. 
§ 620. Effects on Animals. —Subcutaneously injected into frogs, 
cicutoxin acts something like picrotoxin, and something like the barium 
compounds. Ten to fifteen minutes after the injection the animal 
assumes a peculiar posture, holding the legs so that the thigh is stretched 
out far from the trunk, and the leg at right angles with the thigh ; volun¬ 
tary motion is only induced by the strongest stimuli, and when the 
frog springs, he falls down plump with stiffly stretched-out limbs. The 
frequency of breathing is increased, the muscles of the abdomen are 
thrown into contraction, and, the lungs being full of air, on mechanical 
irritation there is a peculiar loud cry, depending upon the air being 
forced under the conditions detailed through the narrow glottis. Tetanic 
convulsions follow, gradually paresis of the extremities appears, and 
lastly, full paralysis and death ; these symptoms are seen after doses 
of from 1 to 2 mgrms. The lethal dose for cats is about 1 centigrm. 
per kilo. Diarrhoea, salivation, and frequent breathing are first seen, 
and are followed by tonic and clonic convulsions ; then there is an 
interval, during which there is heightened excitability of reflex action, 
so that noises will excite convulsions. Small doses by exciting the 
vagus slow the pulse ; larger doses quicken the pulse, and raise the 
arterial pressure. Cicutoxin is supposed to act specially on the medulla 
oblongata, while the spinal cord and the brain are only secondarily 
affected. 
§ 621. Effects on Man. — F. A. Falck was able to collect 31 
cases of poisoning by cicuta ; of these 14 or 45-2 per cent. died. The 
symptoms are not dissimilar to those described in animals. There are 
pain and burning in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, headache, and then 
1 Arch. f. exp. Path., Bd. v., 1876. 
