Common Name:

General Information

Strychnos nux-vomica is a medium-sized tree with a dense, rounded crown; it can grow to about 25 metres tall. The bole can be up to 100cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It has long been used medicinally, even though it is extremely poisonous in all but the smallest doses. It is a rich source of the alkaloid 'strychnine', which is commonly used in conventional medicine and the plant has become a commercial source of this alkaloid. It is mainly harvested from the wild, but it is also locally cultivated in SE Asia, India, Pakistan and tropical Africa[].

Known Hazards

Various parts of Strychnos plants, especially the seeds and bark, contain toxic alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine. The fleshy pulp of the ripe fruits, however, is often edible[].
The seeds are extremely toxic[].

Botanical References

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Range

E. Asia - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnal, Cambobia, Malaya

Habitat

Dry, sandy, coastal woodlands[]. Edges of dense forest, on river banks and along the shore, on loamy or loamy-sandy soil[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	25.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,200 - 3,500mm[].
Requires a sunny position[]. Tolerant of a wide range of soils[]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[].
Fruiting starts 10 - 15 years after planting out the seedlings[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. A white, bitter, sticky flesh[]. Much relished by children[]. The fruit is the size of a small orange[]. The seed is very poisonous[].

Medicinal

Strychnine, the chief active principle of this plant, is one of the most powerful poisons acting on the nervous system[]. It causes tonic contractions that are generally sudden and last from a few seconds to many minutes. They follow each other in rapid succession. In severe forms there is hardly any intermission. The whole body in such causes becomes rigid, immovable, and hard as a board[].
Strychnine also has a marked effect on circulation. The blood pressure rises; there is arterial tension during the appearance of the convulsion; the frequency of the pulse becomes simultaneously slowed[].
The mind remains perfectly clear in strychnine-poisoning[].
Brucine is another alkaloid found in the plant, but in smaller quantity than strychnine. It possesses properties similar to strychnine, but as a poison it is less active[].


Used in small, medicinal doses, the seeds are nervine, stomachic, tonic and aphrodisiac, a spinal stimulant; also a respiratory, and cardiac stimulant[, ]. They can have a beneficial effect in the relief of a wide range of conditions including: rheumatism; arthritis, pain in the extremities; neuralgia; paralysis; myasthenia; enteric hypotonia; enuresis; and anaemia. Care must be taken because of the very high toxicity of the preparations[, ].
The dried seeds have been used for promoting blood circulation, alleviating blood stasis and relieving pain[].
The seed, combined with aromatics, is used in the treatment of colic[].
In traditional Chinese medicine, the seeds are usually heated in oil in order to reduce their toxicity. This significantly reduces the contents of strychnine and brucine and increases the amounts of isostrychnine, isobrucine, strychnine N-oxide and brucine N-oxide[].

The wood is used in the treatment of dysentery, fevers and dyspepsia[].
The bark is employed as tonic and febrifuge[, ].
The root bark is ground up into a fine paste with lime juice and made into pills which are said to be an effective treatment for cholera[].

The leaves are used in the treatment of skin diseases[]. They are also used as mild irritating rubefacient product to treat alopecia by intensifying the capillary blood flow and keeping the scalp and hair follicles active[].
The leaves are used as a poultice on sloughing wounds and ulcers, especially in cases where maggots are present[].

The plant has been used in the treatment of paralytic and neuralgic affections, in atonic diarrhoea and chronic dysentery, also in habitual constipation dependant on torpor of the colon, in prolapse of the rectum, in incontinence of urine, in spermatorrhoea, and in other cases referable to debility or inactivity of the spinal system of nerves, it is a remedy of great value. It has also been employed with alleged benefit in intermittent fevers, epilepsy, diabetes, anaemia, chlorosis, and other affections[].

The seeds are the commercial source of strychnine[, ].
The leaves contain 1.6% brucine and 0.025% strychnine[].
The bark yields strychnine and bricine[].
The wood yields 0.2285 % strychnine and 0.077% brucine[].
Old roots contain 0.71% strychnine and 0.276% brucine[].
The pulp of the fruit contains the glucoside 'loganine'[].
The seeds (embryo and endosperm) contain strychnine and brucine in different proportions and amounts, as well as the glucoside 'loganine'[].
The fixed oil of the seeds contains some strychnine and brucine; oleic, palmitic, arachic, butyric acid; etc[].

Other Uses

The seeds are sometimes used as beads to make necklaces[].

The seeds are used for dying cloth pale brown[].

The wood is hard and termite proof[]. It is used for agricultural implements and tool handles, cart wheels and fancy cabinet work[].

Propagation

Seed - takes 70 - 120 days to germinate[]. The seeds are sown in nursery seedbeds and seedlings are transplanted to the field[].

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