picrotoxin

[pik-ruh-tok-sin]

noun Pharmacology.

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

Related formspic·ro·tox·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for picrotoxin

Historical Examples of picrotoxin

Picrotoxin (C30H24O13) is not an alkaloid as may be seen from its formula.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
T. H. Pardo de Tavera
For the reaction to succeed, the picrotoxin should be tolerably pure.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
It would take up any picrotoxin or aloes if present, and thereby acquire a strongly bitter taste.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
It contains an active principle, cicutoxin, which in some respects is allied to strychnine and picrotoxin.
Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
W. G. Aitchison Robertson
Contains a poisonous active principle, picrotoxin; used to adulterate beer, and by poachers to stupefy fish.
Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
W. G. Aitchison Robertson

British Dictionary definitions for picrotoxin

picrotoxin

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

picrotoxin in Medicine

picrotoxin

[pĭk′rə-tŏk′sĭn]

A bitter crystalline compound derived from the seed of an East Indian woody vine and used as a stimulant, especially in treating barbiturate poisoning.