VARIOUS TYPES OF POISON AS A REFERENCE FOR YOUR NOVEL (6)

This is the last edition of the topic of deadly toxins we were discussing for past weeks. Continuing the write of Various Types of Poison As A Reference For Your Novel (5) let discuss the remain toxic for the rank of 11, 12, and 13 which compose from plants:

 

11.   BELLADONA (DEADLY NIGHTSHADE)

The name can be defined as beautiful women of the Italian language, other reason its base material came from the plant named Belladona, which also known as Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna).

Belladonna is a plant of the family of Solanaceae, recognizable from its shape like bells, purple color flowers, and fruit resembles a berry that had color of green and gradually turns purple when aging.

This plant can grow up to 1.5 meters of height while the leaves themselves can reach about 25 cm of length, and many lives in Europe, North Africa, Asia, North America and the British. As its name, Deadly Nightshade, this plant is very lethal if it gets exposed to the body in low concentrations.

In Renaissance period, the plant was used as a basic ingredient in cosmetics, one of them were to enlarge the pupils so women look more seductive with it. Moreover women also rub the ingredient to make their cheeks red which known as blush-on nowadays.

Although it’s useful in some way but the leaves is actually very lethal if swallowed. Among Indian civilization and some primitive tribes this plant was used as arrow’s poison. Beside the leaves, the fruit had potential danger as well, for example 10 pieces of Belladona are enough to ends man’s life. 10 pieces Belladonna was tantamount to a lethal dose of 100 mg of these plants for adults.

The Signs of Belladonna plant poisoning can be felt from dry mouth excessive because most its apparent effect was burning throat. Additionally it accompanied by dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, high fever because the body can’t outcome the sweat, hallucinations, difficulty breathing, and subsequent skin so red.

12.   ACONITE

It derived from monkshood plant, Aconitum Ferox or also known as Wolfsbane. Aconite is characterized as a plant which a high-shape flower that includes Buttercup family. There are more than 250 species of Aconitum where its flower had many color like blue, yellow, white, or pink.

The most common herbs in this genus is Aconitum Napellus (Monkshood) and much of it are being nurtured as ornamental flower in people gardens. Aconite apparently very fast to grow in garden soil and in the shade of trees, and is also easily propagated by root or seed. For its roots must be kept carefully out of the reach of animals or children.

The roots of Ferox Aconitum are the one that supplying poison for people at Nepal called bikh, bish, or nabee. For medical development in western world, Aconite ever used as raw material for medicine because of its ability to slow the pulse effectively as sedative and the cure of pneumonia, sore throat, even runny nose. However once known its side effects, the use of Aconite finally stopped in the middle of 20th century.

Some symptoms that may be an indication that a person exposed to Aconite was numbness in mouth, taste like there were ants spread over the whole body, vomiting, difficulty in breathing, the pulse throbbing weakly and irregularly, and cold skin.

These toxins can cause disruption of arrhythmia’s function of the heart that causing suffocate to the victim. Poisoning can occur even just by touching the plant’s leaves without gloves. Because of it is untraceable, the poison have become one of the popular poison that used to kill without a trace.

Interestingly Aconite flower also has the ability to identify Werewolf. Maybe that's why Aconite called Wolfsbane. Scrubs the flower on somebody’s chin and if it’s turn yellow he or she is one you should aware of because they’re hiding their identity as werewolf.

Study the effectiveness of this toxin in mice found that crude aconite was significantly able to kill mice in a dose of 2.6 mg which period of time the death occurred no more than one hour.

13.   HEMLOCK

Conium Maculatum or so-called Hemlock is a flowering plant that’s highly toxic and grows at most Europe and South Africa. This plant is one of the most popular in ancient Greece, which is used to kill the prisoners, and the philosopher Socrates is one of its victims after he was forced to drink hemlock on the death sentence imposed by a court to him.

This plant can grow as high as 1,5 - 2,5 meter with a smooth green stem and hollow, normally filled with patches or red or purple lines on the bottom of the trunk. The leaves pinnate in two or four, a finely divided and has a shape resembling a lace triangle with a size of 50x40 cm. When the leaves stepped on it will emit a bad odor resembling a turnip

One small bite on Hemlock’s roots by an adult or consume 100 mg of Conium that equal to 8 leaves of these plants could lead you to death because the highest concentrations of cicutoxin of Hemlock is at its root.

Death will be preceded by paralysis, your brain awakes but the body couldn’t make any respond because your muscles becoming malfunction until the cessation of respiratory system. Hemlock cause death by blocking the neuromuscular junction that causes the supply of oxygen to the heart and lungs reduced.

Well, after you read all of 13 poisons which one do you think as the most powerful poison you’ll used to kill your character? Are you agreed with my rank or do you have different order? Leave you comment at below and I hope this material could be useful to make your writing more sophisticated. 

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