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Cicutoxin is a poisonous polyyne and alcohol found in various plants, such as the highly toxic water hemlock (''Cicuta'' species). It is a natural product structurally related to the oenanthotoxin of hemlock water dropwort. It causes death by disruption of the central nervous system. It is a potent, noncompetitive gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor antagonist. In humans, cicutoxin rapidly produces symptoms of nausea, emesis and abdominal pain, typically within 60 minutes of ingestion. This can lead to tremors, seizures, and death. LD50(mouse; i.p.) ~9 mg/kg〔M. Wink and B.-E. van Wyk (2008), ''Mind-Altering and Poisonous Plants of the World'', p.87, Portland: Timber Press.〕 ==History== The toxic effect of the plants that contains cicutoxin have been known for centuries.〔E.F.L.J. Anet, B. Lythgoe, M.H. Silk, S. Trippett, Oenanthotoxin and cicutoxin, Isolation and Structures, J. Chem.Soc., 1953, 309〕 As early as 1911, 27 cases of cicutoxin poisoning were known, 21 of the cases resulted in death. In some of these cases the plant was used for murder or execution.〔A.N.P. van Heijst, S.A. Pikaar, R.G. van Kesteren en J.M.C. Douze. Een vergiftiging door de waterscheerling (cicuta virosa). Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 1983, 127, nr. 53〕 78 cases were reported in 1962, 33 of them resulted in death.〔L.J. Schep, R.J. Slaughter, G. Becket, D Micheal, G. Beasley. Poisoning due to water hemlock. Clinical Toxicology (2009)〕 These days there are still cases of cicutoxin poisoning:〔Hazardous Substance Data Bank available at: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+@rel+505-75-9 (accessed: 20-3-2013)〕 -A child used the stem of a plant as a toy whistle and died of cicutoxin poisoning -A 14-year-old boy died 20 hours after consuming a ‘wild carrot’ -In 1992, two brothers were foraging for wild ginseng, one of them ate three bites of a ‘ginseng’-root and the other one ingested one bite. The first brother died three hours after ingesting the root. His brother only suffered seizures and delirium, but had full recovery -A family of five used a cicuta plant to relieve themselves of pruritus. The cicutoxin caused toxic symptoms and two of the children died. All plants from the genus Cicuta contain cicutoxin, these plants are found in swampy, wet habitats in North America and parts of Europe. The Cicuta plants are often mistaken for edible roots such as parsnip, wild carrot or wild ginseng. All parts of the cicuta plants are poisonous, though the root is the most toxic part of the plant. 17 boys ingested parts of the plant, only those who consumed the root were experiencing seizures, the others who consumed the leaves and flowers were only unwell. The toxicity of the plants depends on various factors, such as seasonal variation, temperature, geographical location and soil conditions. Especially in the early spring the roots are the most toxic part of the plant. The roots contain their toxicity even after drying.〔 Cicutoxin was first isolated by C.A. Jacobsen in 1915. In 1953, the structure of the toxin was determined. The first synthesis of cicutoxin was reported in 1955, the researchers had a yield of only 4 percent. Given that they had no access to modern coupling reactions, this was a great accomplishment. The absolute configuration of cicutoxin was identified in 1999, they also discovered that the plants contain multiple congeners of cicutoxin.〔B.W. Gung, A.O. Omollo. A Concise Synthesis of R-(–)-Cicutoxin, a Natural 17-Carbon Polyenyne. European Journal of Organic Chemistry Vol. 2009, Issue 8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cicutoxin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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