【Top Ten Ancient Poisons】
★1. Duan Chang Cao (Heartbreak Grass) is a plant of the Hualuanteng family, a perennial vine. Its main toxic substance is Hualuanteng alkaloid. According to records, after ingestion, the intestines turn black and sticky, and the person experiences continuous abdominal pain and dies. The general detoxification methods include gastric lavage, taking charcoal ash, followed by alkali water and emetics. After gastric lavage, drinking a decoction of mung beans, honeysuckle, and licorice can detoxify. Another name for Duan Chang Cao is Leirong Teng (according to the "Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicine"). Mung beans, honeysuckle, and licorice are actually universal antidotes, as are lychee stems, raw soybean milk, and the like. Leigong Teng grows in shady, moist areas at the edge of mountains and forests. It is distributed south of the Yangtze River and in southwestern regions. Roots are harvested in autumn, leaves in summer, flowers and fruits in summer and autumn.
★2. Zhen, according to legend, is a fierce bird of prey, larger than an eagle, with a loud and piercing cry. Its feathers are highly poisonous; soaking them in wine turns it into Zhen wine, which is extremely toxic and almost impossible to treat. Over time, Zhen wine became a general term for poisonous wine. Another version says that Zhen is not a legendary bird of prey, but actually exists—it is the snake-eating hawk, a small raptor widely distributed in southern mountainous regions, such as Wudang Mountain. Because it eats snakes, it was mistakenly thought to be extremely poisonous. Yet another version states that Zhen is a rare, unknown bird species that has been completely hunted by humans.
★3. Ban Mu Bie (Strychnos) refers to the seeds of the Strychnos and Yunnan Strychnos plants of the Loganiaceae family. They are flat-round or flat-oval, 1.5–3 cm in diameter, 0.3–0.6 cm thick. Usually, one side is raised and the other slightly concave, with a surface covered in downy hairs. The edges are slightly raised and thicker, with a raised circular seedhilum in the center of the base, hard in texture. The toxic components mainly include Strychnine (C21H22O2N2) and Brucine (C23H26O4N2). They are mainly used for rheumatic stubborn pain, numbness and paralysis, trauma, ulcers, and swelling; sequelae of childhood polio and rheumatoid joint pain, and reportedly even for myasthenia gravis. Symptoms of poisoning initially include headache, dizziness, irritability, increased breathing, muscle cramp sensations, difficulty swallowing, worsened breathing, constricted pupils, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, entire body stiffness, followed by extreme simultaneous contraction of extensor and flexor muscles, hypersensitivity to hearing, sight, taste, and touch, which then develops into typical strychnine convulsions, ultimately leading to death due to respiratory muscle rigidity and suffocation.The antidote method is to use central nervous system depressants to stop convulsions, such as amyan sodium, pentobarbital sodium, or diazepam by intravenous injection. Then perform gastric lavage, followed by decoctions of appropriate amounts of licorice, mung beans, Fangfeng, Ming Teng, Indigo naturalis (taken orally), and fresh ginger, taken consecutively for four doses.
★4. Cranes have medicinal value in their meat, bones, and brains, but they are non-toxic and all function as nourishing and beneficial substances. Red Crane's Crest is actually realgar. Realgar is a natural mineral form of arsenic trioxide, which after processing becomes the well-known arsenic trioxide (arsenic). "Red Crane's Crest" was just an euphemistic term for arsenic in ancient times. When arsenic enters the body, it binds to the sulfhydryl groups of proteins, causing protein denaturation and loss of activity. It can block the cellular oxidative energy pathways, leading to a rapid ATP deficiency and death, similar to the action mechanism of hydrogen cyanide.
★5. Natural arsenic trioxide has the chemical composition As₂O₃ and a cubic crystal system with hexoctahedral crystal forms. Single crystals are octahedral, with some rhombohedral dodecahedrons. Aggregates may be stellate, crusty, hair-like, earthy, or stalactitic. The color is white, sometimes with sky-blue, yellow, or red tones, and occasionally colorless. Streak is white or pale yellow. Luster ranges from glassy to adamantine, with occasional oily or silky luster. Mohs hardness is 1.5, specific gravity 3.73–3.90, perfect cleavage, conchoidal fracture, brittle, soluble in water, and extremely toxic.
★6. Arsenic mineral (arsenolite) is a processed product made from naturally occurring arsenic-containing minerals such as realgar, orpiment, and arsenopyrite. Also known as realgar stone. Mainly produced in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, and Zhezhou. Commercially available as red realgar and white realgar, with medicinal usage mainly involving red realgar. All arsenic minerals should be placed in a sand jar, sealed tightly with clay, roasted in a furnace until red, then cooled; alternatively, it can be boiled with mung beans to reduce toxicity. Grind into fine powder for use. The sublimated refined product of arsenic mineral is a white powder, i.e., arsenic trioxide, which is even more toxic.
★7. Diamond has hydrophobic and lipophilic properties. When ingested as diamond powder, it adheres to the stomach wall, and long-term friction can cause gastric ulcers, which, if untreated, can result in death from stomach bleeding. It is a chronic poison difficult to detect. During the Renaissance, chronic poisons made from diamond powder were once popular among Italian nobility.
★8. Oleander, also known as willow-leaf peach, is toxic and contains cardiac glycosides. Its effects are similar to digitalis; 3 grams of dried plant can be fatal. The main symptoms are similar to digitalis poisoning.Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea; arrhythmia, slow heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, eventually leading to ventricular fibrillation, syncope, convulsions, coma, or tachycardia, ectopic rhythm, and death due to circulatory failure.
★ 9. Aconite, a plant of the Ranunculaceae family, is a perennial herb. The plant height is 60–120 cm, leaves alternate, leathery, ovate, trilobed, with each lobe further divided into two segments, the central lobe further divided into three, with notches on the edges. The flower has a 5-sepal conical inflorescence, 2 petals, and an oblong fruit. Flowering period is June to July, fruiting period is July to August. Distributed in Liaoning, Henan, Shandong, Gansu, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou provinces.
The name 'Aconite' generally refers to Sichuan Aconite. There is also Grass Aconite, which generally refers to wild species of Aconite and other plants of the same genus, such as Northern Aconite (Blue Wu La flower), Taibai Aconite (Golden Bull seven), etc., which are names used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Aconite contains various alkaloids, including hypaconitine, mesaconitine, aconitine, benzoylaconine A, benzoylaconine B (Cammichonaline), tariamine, etc.
★ 10. 'Bleeding Heartwood,' also known as 'Poison Arrow Tree' or 'Scissors Tree,' is a nationally protected endangered plant and one of the most poisonous plant species in the world.
The tree sap is milky white and highly toxic. Once the sap enters the bloodstream through a wound, it poses a life-threatening risk. Traditionally, people applied it to arrowheads to hunt animals or enemies. Instant kill. Native to Southeast Asia. In China, it can be seen in Hainan and the Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden.
【Poisoning Levels】
Level 6: Extremely Poisonous, less than 5 mg/kg, fewer than 7 drops
Level 5: Highly Poisonous, 5–50 mg/kg, 7 drops to 1 spoon
Level 4: Very Poisonous, 50–500 mg/kg, 1 spoon to 1 ounce
Level 3: Poisonous, 0.5–5 g/kg, 1 ounce to 1 pint or 1 pound
Level 2: Mildly Poisonous, 5–15 g/kg, 1 pint to 1 quart
Level 1: Slightly Poisonous, over 15 g/kg, 1 quart or over 2.2 pounds
