Bitter poisons

Sbacchi, A. Legacy of Bitterness Poison Gas and Atrocities in the Italo-Ethiopian War 1935-36 , Geneva—Africa, vol. XIII, no. 2,1974. 

Recent research indicates up to 80 different bitter taste receptors in humans. These are genetically linked to loci that influence bitter perceptions—hence individuals have vastly different abilities to perceive bitter tastes (Drewnowski and Gomez-Carneros 2000). This genetic variability (polymorphism) has been interpreted as a protective mechanism for identification of bitter poisons however, it can also... 

Properties Glossy, colorless crystals or white powder, turning.yellow on exposure to light odorless tasteless at first, then bitter poisonous Soluble in chloroform, alcohol, alkalies and most volatile and fatty oils very slightly soluble in water. Solutions are levorotatory. Sp.gx. 1.187 m.p. 170-173 C b.p. sublimes specific rotation —170 to —175 (2 g/lOO ml alcohol). 

Benzyldiethyl[(2,6-xylylcarbamoyl)methyl]ammoniumbenzoate (denatonium benzoate [3734-33-6] Bitrex) is an extremely bitter tasting, nonirritating, and nonmutagenic compound that has been widely used in many household products such as detergents, nail poHsh removers, and cleaning agents, to prevent childhood poisoning. It is also used as an alcohol denaturant. 

Potassium cyanide KCN On exposure to air, gradually decomposes to release HCN Poisonous by ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption Do not handle with bare hands. Strong solutions may be corrosive to the skin Nonflammable white lumps or crystals Eaint odour of bitter almonds Completely water soluble... 

Dioscorine is bitter and poisonous it produces paralysis of the centra system, and, in general, behaves like picrotoxin. This action PPears to be correlated with the — 0—C = C- group, since on the... 

Koelsch (Ref 16), based on observation of 1200 workers engaged in handling PA, described the symptoms of poisoning as follows a yellow coloration of unprotected parts of the skin and hair, irritation of the mucous membranes and of the upper parts,of the respiratory tract and the digestive tract. In addition, a constant bitter taste and a lack of appetite appear... 

Effects of Sesquiterpene Lactones on Seed Germination. Sesquiterpene lactones are common constituents of the Asteraceae but are also found in other angiosperm families and in certain liverworts (31,32). These highly bitter substances exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities (J 3) which include cytotoxicity, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, insecticidal (34) and molluscicidal (35) properties. Furthermore, they are known causes for livestock poisoning and contact dermatitis in humans (33). Structure-activity relationship studies on sesquiterpene lactones have demonstrated that biological activity frequently depend on the presence of the cr... 

Bitter almond odor associated with patient suggests cyanide poisoning, metabolic acidosis, cyanide (blood) or thiocyanate (blood or urine) levels. 

A. indica L. Indian Aristolochia, also known as Indian birthwort, ishvara (Sanskrit), or adagam (Tamil), is a bitter climber native to India. The medicinal material consists of the rhizome, which is to resolve inflammation (India), counteract insect poison, and as an antipyretic (Philippines and Vietnam). The rhizome contains aristolochic acid, which inhibits in vitro and dose-dependent phospholipid hydrolysis by the human synovial fluid phospholipase A2, snake venom phospholipase A2, porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2, and human platelet phospholipase A2 (2). 

As a child growing up in Portland, Oregon, she sometimes suffered from eczema and was prone to react to poison oak. Other than that, she was a healthy child, the oldest of five. Terri has a daughter who is seven years old. Without a trace of anger, fear or bitterness in her voice, she told me her story over a cup of tea in the CyberCafe bookstore on Whidbey Island. 

We knew Utetheisa to feed on poisonous plants as a larva (Figure 1B). The plants, of the genus Crotalaria (family Leguminosae), were known to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (henceforth abbreviated as PAs), intensely bitter compounds potently hepatotoxic to mammals (7). Other species of Utetheisa were known to sequester PAs (8). We found this to be true for U. ornatrix as well. Adult Utetheisa raised on Crotalaria spectabilis, one of the principal foodplants available to the moth in the United States, contain on average about 700 p,g of monocrotaline (1), the principal PA in that plant (9, 10). 

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a colorless, rapidly acting, highly poisonous gas or liquid that has an odor of bitter almonds. Most HCN is used as an intermediate at the site of production. Major uses include the manufacture of nylons, plastics, and fumigants. Exposures to HCN may occur in industrial situations as well as from cigarette smoke, combustion products, and naturally occurring cyanide compounds in foods. Sodium nitroprusside (Na2[Fe(CN)5 N0]-2H20), which has been used as an antihypertensive in humans, breaks down into nonionized HCN. 

An almond-like smell in the breath of a poisoned patient can warn a physician that the individual may be suffering from cyanide poisoning. Approximately 60-70% of the population can detect the bitter almond odor of hydrogen cyanide. The odor threshold for those sensitive to the odor is estimated to be 1-5 ppm in the air. However, even at high toxic concentrations up to 20% of all individuals are genetically unable to smell hydrogen cyanide (Snodgrass 1996). Some effects of cyanide that can also be used to monitor exposure are discussed in Section 2.5.2. 

Bitterness remains a major issue for study. In particular, what drives livestock s consumption of poisonous plants The cause of willful consumption... 

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