What blowgun poison is used in surgery?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
April 23, 2002
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In the rainforests of the Amazon basin, natives hunted using pucunas (blowguns) and darts dipped in ampihuasca (curare), a mix of plant extracts. Each group had their own particular blend, the recipe of which was jealously guarded. Darted prey would drop from the trees and later die or be killed.
These curare blends usually contained Strychnos guianensis, Sciadotenia toxifera, but especially the vine, Chondrodendron tomentosum Ruiz and Pavón. The toxic stew was boiled until it became a dark, viscid paste.
In 1811, the senior surgeon at St. George's Hospital in England, Sir Benjamin Brodie, noticed during an experiment of curare poisoning, the heart continued to beat after respiration ceased. The toxin did not affect the cardiac muscle.
The alkaloids in Chondrodendron tomentosum affect the somatic nervous system, blocking the acetylcholine receptor sites. The skeletal muscles are paralyzed by relaxation and death follows due to asphyxiation.
Tubocurarine and other alkaloid extracts from Chondrodendron are used to treat severe muscle spasms or trauma, to control convulsions caused by poisons like strychnine, and to completely immobilize patients undergoing delicate surgery. The medically desired effects are in dosage and duration.
During complete immobilization, artificial respiration is maintained until the effect of the alkaloid wears off. Tubocurarine leaves the patient with no ill side effects, like tissue or cell damage.
Interestingly, anthropologists claim Amazon natives never use curare during warfare. It is considered too scarce and expensive to waste.
TROPICOS of the Missouri Botanical Garden has photographs of Chondrodendron tomentosum. In the menu, highlight the photograph number and then click submit. To return to the menu, use your browser back button. To view, click on the link:
http://mobot.mobot.org/cgi-bin/search_vast?imagx=20600134
John Waymire has a fascinating article on the Yagua of the Amazon and how they make pucunas. To visit his website, click on the link:
http://www.biobio.com/dock/Yagua.html
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