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Curare Symptoms

Sir Walter Raleigh discovered curare in Guyana in 1595. Curare refers to the toxins of two different plants, Strychnos toxifera and Chondrondendron tomentostum, that were used by the indigenous peoples of South America for poisoned darts. Curare is poisonous when introduced to the bloodstream. The molecular structure of curare is too large to be absorbed through the digestive tract, meaning poisoned animals are still safe to eat.

  1. Mechanism and Structure

    • Curare is a muscle relaxant and, in small doses, has been used as an anesthetic, anti-convulsant, and in the treatment of hydrophobia and tetanus. Curare is not currently used in Western medicine because of the development of safer and more effective muscle relaxants. Chemically, curare resembles strychnine, though it has several significant differences. Curare (also known as curarine) is a water soluble, colorless or white alkaloid that blocks the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

    Symptoms

    • Paralysis is the main symptom of curare poisoning, according to the British Medical Journal. It works first on the voluntary muscles, then on the involuntary muscles. In a high enough dose, curare poisoning results in complete muscular paralysis and death. A person poisoned by curare will continue to have awareness despite full-body paralysis, until breathing stops and a lack of oxygen results in the loss of consciousness. It is possible for an animal poisoned by curare to appear dead, but to make a full recovery. This happens when the heart slows but does not completely stop beating. The animal may even stop breathing, but if the heart continues to beat and breathing starts again within a minute or two (or someone performs artificial respiration), the animal can survive.

    Antidote

    • Curare's nicotinic acetylcholine receptor blocking properties can be reversed by introducing an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. AChE inhibitors increase the amount of AChE in the body, restoring muscle function despite the presence of curare, according to The Journal of Physiology.

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