Thanks to warnings from our mother’s about, “Watching out for poison ivy!” while camping and hollywood cinema, we all know that poisons are not good for you and might possibly kill you. It happens. But, how does the poison work? Just “Bam!” you eat it, your dead? Not really. It all happens in the effects made on your enzymes. Many poisons are known a enzyme inhibitors.
One particular poison that interested me was one called Wolfsbane. The reason this most interested me was that the plant plays a big part in some episodes of my two favorite TV shows, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. In the show, wolfsbane is used as a weakness to werewolves by weakening and hurting them in any form of contact. In real life, not only werewolves can be affected.
Wolfsbane, also known as Aconitum vulparia, is found growing in the woods and mountains. The plant grows best at higher elevations and in damp areas. It contains the deadly poison alkaloid aconitine. Even touching the flowers of the plant can cause a reaction. And ingestion, well, say goodbye to everyone you know.
The poison in Wolfsbane works by a severe gastrointestinal upsets. Then, the fatal part kicks in. The lycoctonine slows your heart rate, making your case a lot worse. This happens due to their effects on the sodium channels of cell membranes. It activates the channels at high rates. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, numbness of the tongue, labored breathing, and cold, clammy skin. Death can occur within 4 hours with even the smallest dosage. The only treatment is to try and keep your body’s blood flow for a good as possible.
Fun fact: You can not send wolfsbane to Australia, luckily for Pheobe Tonkin.
http://www.alchemy-works.com/aconitum_vulparia.html
http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/aconitum_lycoctonum.htm
Alex Blair's Biology Blog :) 