Editing Strychnine (section)

== History ==
Strychnine was the first alkaloid to be identified in plants of the genus ''[[Strychnos]]'', family [[Loganiaceae]]. ''Strychnos'', named by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1753, is a [[genus]] of trees and climbing [[shrub]]s of the [[Gentianales]] order. The genus contains 196 various species and is distributed throughout the warm regions of Asia (58 species), America (64 species), and Africa (75 species). The seeds and bark of many plants in this genus contain strychnine.

The toxic and medicinal effects of ''[[Strychnos nux-vomica]]'' have been well known from the times of ancient India, although the chemical compound itself was not identified and characterized until the 19th century. The inhabitants of these countries had historical knowledge of the species ''Strychnos nux-vomica'' and Saint-Ignatius' bean (''[[Strychnos ignatii]]''). ''Strychnos nux-vomica'' is a tree native to the [[tropical forest]]s on the [[Malabar Coast]] in Southern India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, which attains a height of about {{convert|12|m}}. The tree has a crooked, short, thick trunk and the wood is close grained and very durable. The fruit has an orange color and is about the size of a large apple with a hard [[Peel (fruit)|rind]] and contains five seeds, which are covered with a soft wool-like substance. The ripe seeds look like flattened disks, which are very hard. These seeds are the chief commercial source of strychnine and were first imported to and marketed in Europe as a poison to kill rodents and small [[predator]]s. ''Strychnos ignatii'' is a woody climbing shrub of the Philippines. The fruit of the plant, known as Saint Ignatius' bean, contains as many as 25 seeds embedded in the pulp. The seeds contain more strychnine than other commercial alkaloids. The properties of ''S. nux-vomica'' and ''S. ignatii'' are substantially those of the alkaloid strychnine.

Strychnine was first discovered by French chemists [[Joseph Bienaimé Caventou]] and [[Pierre-Joseph Pelletier]] in 1818 in the Saint-Ignatius' bean.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pelletier PP, Caventou JB | author-link1 = Pierre-Joseph Pelletier | author-link2 = Joseph Bienaimé Caventou | year = 1818 | title = Note sur un nouvel alkalai | trans-title = Note on a new alkali | language = fr | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-N43AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA323 | journal = Annales de Chimie et de Physique | volume = 8 | pages = 323–324 | access-date = 2016-10-06 | archive-date = 2024-03-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240308030358/https://books.google.com/books?id=-N43AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA323#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Pelletier PP, Caventou JB | date = 1819 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sSE4AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA142 | title = Mémoire sur un nouvel alcali vegetal (la strychnine) trouvé dans la feve de Saint-Ignace, la noix vomique, etc. | trans-title = Memoir on a new vegetable alkali (strychnine) found in the St. Ignatius bean, the nux-vomica, etc) | language = fr | journal = Annales de Chimie et de Physique | volume = 10 | pages = 142–176 | access-date = 2016-10-06 | archive-date = 2024-03-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240308030358/https://books.google.com/books?id=sSE4AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA142#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status = live}}</ref> In some ''Strychnos'' plants a 9,10-dimethoxy derivative of strychnine, the alkaloid [[brucine]], is also present. [[Brucine]] is not as poisonous as strychnine. Historic records indicate that preparations containing strychnine (presumably) had been used to kill dogs, cats, and birds in Europe as far back as 1640.<ref name="gupta">{{cite book | vauthors = Gupta RC, Patocka J | date = 2009 | title = Handbook of Toxicology of Chemical Warfare Agents | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OVpNT6Vpkx8C&q=1640 | location = London | publisher = Academic Press | page = 199 | isbn = 978-0-08-092273-7 | access-date = 2020-10-20 | archive-date = 2024-03-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240308030358/https://books.google.com/books?id=OVpNT6Vpkx8C&q=1640#v=snippet&q=1640&f=false | url-status = live}}</ref> It was allegedly used by convicted murderer [[William Palmer (murderer)|William Palmer]] to kill his final victim, John Cook.<ref name="rugeley poisoner">{{cite book | last = Hayhurst | first = Alan | title = Staffordshire MURDERS | year = 2008 | publisher = The History Press | location = [[Gloucestershire]] | isbn = 978-0-7509-4706-0 | pages = 15–36}}</ref> It was also used during [[World War II]] by [[Oskar Dirlewanger]] against civilians.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Grunberger R | title = The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany, 1933–1945 | publisher = Holt, Rinehart and Winston | date = 1971 | page = 104}}</ref>

The structure of strychnine was first determined in 1946 by Sir [[Robert Robinson (organic chemist)|Robert Robinson]] and in 1954 this alkaloid was [[Strychnine total synthesis|synthesized]] in a laboratory by [[Robert Burns Woodward|Robert B. Woodward]]. This is one of the most famous syntheses in the history of organic chemistry. Both chemists won the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel prize]] (Robinson in 1947 and Woodward in 1965).<ref name="gupta" />

Strychnine has been used as a plot device in the author [[Agatha Christie]]'s murder mysteries.<ref name="strichnine1">{{cite web | title = Killed by Agatha Christie: Strychnine and the detective novel | url = http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/literature-and-creative-writing/literature/killed-agatha-christie-strychnine-and-the-detective-novel | website = www.open.edu | publisher = [[Open University]] | access-date = 27 July 2017 | archive-date = 20 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170820221016/http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/literature-and-creative-writing/literature/killed-agatha-christie-strychnine-and-the-detective-novel | url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
Strychnine was popularly used as an athletic [[Performance-enhancing substance|performance enhancer]] and [[Recreational drug use|recreational stimulant]] in the late 19th century and early 20th century, due to its [[convulsant]] effects. One notorious instance of its use was during the [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 Olympics]] marathon, when track-and-field athlete [[Thomas Hicks (athlete)|Thomas Hicks]] was unwittingly administered a concoction of egg whites and brandy laced with a small amount of strychnine by his assistants in a vain{{clarify|date=April 2025}} attempt to boost his stamina. Hicks won the race, but was hallucinating<ref>{{cite magazine | last1 = Abbott | first1 = Karen | author-link1 = Karen Abbott | date = August 7, 2012 | title = The 1904 Olympic Marathon May Have Been the Strangest Ever | magazine = Smithsonian Magazine | language = en | url = https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1904-olympic-marathon-may-have-been-the-strangest-ever-14910747/ | access-date = April 8, 2024 | quote = He began hallucinating, believing that the finish line was still 20 miles away.}}</ref> by the time he reached the finish line, and soon after collapsed.<ref>{{cite web | title = Thomas Hicks | url = https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78551 | access-date = January 17, 2021 | work = Olympedia}}</ref>

[[Maximilian Theodor Buch]] proposed it as a cure for alcoholism around the same time. It was thought to be similar to coffee,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://io9.com/why-strychnine-was-an-early-performance-enhancing-drug-512532345 | title = Rat poison strychnine was an early performance-enhancing drug | vauthors = Inglis-Arkell E | date = 11 June 2013 | website = [[io9]] | publisher = [[Gawker Media]] | access-date = 23 Nov 2015 | archive-date = 23 November 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151123151637/http://io9.com/why-strychnine-was-an-early-performance-enhancing-drug-512532345 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.spectroscopynow.com/details/ezine/sepspec12719ezine/Strictly-strychnine---medicines-to-be-avoided-by-athletes.html?tzcheck=1 | title = Strictly strychnine – medicines to be avoided by athletes | access-date = 2015-05-27 | archive-date = 2015-05-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150528012115/http://www.spectroscopynow.com/details/ezine/sepspec12719ezine/Strictly-strychnine---medicines-to-be-avoided-by-athletes.html?tzcheck=1 | url-status = live}}</ref> and also has been used and abused recreationally.<ref>{{cite news |title=News Briefs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/436941471/?match=1&terms=Strychnine%20abuse |access-date=4 June 2024 |publisher=[[The Sioux City Journal]] |date=14 November 1908}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Sonics - Strychnine lyrics |url=https://genius.com/The-sonics-strychnine-lyrics |website=Genius.com |access-date=4 June 2024}}</ref>

Its effects are well-described in [[H. G. Wells]]' novella ''[[The Invisible Man]]'': the title character states "Strychnine is a grand tonic ... to take the flabbiness out of a man." Dr Kemp, an acquaintance, replies: "It's the devil. It's the palaeolithic in a bottle."<ref>{{cite wikisource | vauthors = Wells HG | author-link1 = H. G. Wells | title = The Invisible Man | wslink = The Invisible Man (1897) | chapter = Chapter 20 | date = 1897}}</ref>