Strychnos aculeata

Safety & Hazards

The seeds are rubbed into a paste and used as arrow poison^[1]. The fruit and a paste from the seed are used as fish poison^[1]. The fruits and especially the seeds of Strychnos aculeata are highly poisonous. The fruit contains saponins. Indole alkaloids were only found in the fruit wall, not in the seeds. Principal indole alkaloids of the root bark are strychnofendlerine and N-acetyl-strychnosplendine. The stem bark contains spermostrychnine, N-acetyl-isostrychnosplendine and N-acetyl-O-methylstrychnosplendine, the latter being also the main indole alkaloid of the fruit. N-acetyl-O-methylstrychnosplendine is partly responsible for the strong muscle-paralysing activity in vitro and in vivo. Spermostrychnine causes clonic convulsions, but no tonic convulsions in mice^[1].