Physostigma venenosum Balf

The seeds of Physostigma venenosum, Balf., have long been used in West Africa as an ordeal poison. From them Jobst and Hesse, isolated... 

The classic cholinesterase inhibitor is the alkaloid physostigmine (33), also called eserine. Investigations carried out in the nineteenth century on the ordeal poison esere, which consisted of an extract of the Calabar Bean, the seeds of Physostigma venenosum Balf, resulted in the isolation of (33)... 

Physostigma venenosum Balf., LegumincKae, Ang., native of Nigeria... 

Exelone/Sandoz (patent), physostigmine, from Novartis (manu cturer) Nigra-ian Physostigma venenosum Balf., Leguminosae, Ang./indole alkal. 

The calabar bean, seeds from Physostigma venenosum Balf. (Leguminosae), was used traditionally in Africa, particularly southeast Nigeria, for ritual deaths associated with the funeral of a chief and as an ordeal poison to determine the guilt or innocence of persons accused of a crime [1]. The pyrroloindole alkaloid physostigmine (12) (also referred to as eserine) was first isolated from the seeds of P. venenosum in the nineteenth century [75]. It is a short-acting and reversible inhibitor of AChE [12]. 

While phenyl pyrrole derivatives have not been isolated from higher plants, a number of plant alkaloids have been shown to be derived from tryptophan (Manske, 1965). Several of these plants, such as the calabar bean (Physostigma venenosum Balf.) and the family Calycanthaceae [Calycanthus L. and Chimonanthus Lindl.), yield compounds, e.g. physostigmine (VIII) and folicanthine (IX) whose biosynthesis may follow a pathway similar to that of pyrrolnitrin. 

---