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Fatal C leistanthus collinus Toxicity: A Case Report and Review of Literature
Author(s) -
Das Siddhartha,
Hamide Abdoul,
Mohanty Manoj K.,
Muthusamy Ravichandran
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12519
Subject(s) - decoction , ingestion , medicine , toxin , metabolic acidosis , traditional medicine , pharmacology , chemistry , anesthesia , biochemistry
Cleistanthus collinus is an extremely toxic plant poison. We report a case of suicidal ingestion of boiled water decoction of C . collinus where the patient presented with abdominal pain and giddiness. There was persistent metabolic acidosis and fluctuation in the level of serum potassium. The ECG changes indicated a probable myocardial injury with conduction abnormality. At autopsy, the viscera were found to be congested. The toxins were detected in the viscera and blood by TLC and HPLC . Cleistanthin A and B , collinusin, and diphyllin are the principal toxic constituents of the plant. Consumption of a boiled decoction of leaves is highly toxic and, medical management of patients is mainly supportive because the molecular mechanisms of toxin action are unknown. In the recent years, C . collinus has created a considerable amount of interest because of its complex metabolites and their cytotoxic activities. Through this study, the authors have tried to highlight different properties pertaining to C . collinus .