picrotoxin

[ pik-ruh-tok-sin ]

nounPharmacology.

a white, crystalline, bitter, poisonous, central nervous system stimulant, C30H34O13, obtained from the seeds of Anamirta cocculus: used chiefly in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning.

Origin of picrotoxin

1865–70; <Greek pikr(ós) bitter + -o- + toxin

Other words from picrotoxin

pic·ro·tox·ic, adjective

Words Nearby picrotoxin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use picrotoxin in a sentence

Picrotoxinin exists in picrotoxin in the proportion of 32 to 100, and may be separated by boiling in benzine.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines | T. H. Pardo de Tavera
It contains a bitter poisonous principle, picrotoxin, used in small doses to control the night sweats of phthisis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 | Various
For the reaction to succeed, the picrotoxin should be tolerably pure.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth
On evaporation of the solvent the crude picrotoxin can be crystallised out of water, and its properties examined.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth
Concentrated aqueous solutions of alkalies and ammonia decompose picrotoxin fully on warming.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth

British Dictionary definitions for picrotoxin

picrotoxin

/ (ˌpɪkrəˈtɒksɪn) /

noun

a bitter poisonous crystalline compound formerly used as an antidote for barbiturate poisoning. Formula: C 30 H 34 O 13

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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