Muscarine poison than it is dangerous. Muscarine poisoning. Ibotenic acid and muscimol
Physical properties
This alkaloid obtained from mushrooms is called mushroom or natural muscarine, its empirical formula looks like C5H15NO8, while structural formula not found. Natural muscarine is odorless and tasteless and is a syrupy liquid with a strongly alkaline reaction, which, when dried in the presence of sulfuric acid, gradually turns into a crystalline state. In air, alkaloid crystals dissolve very quickly, and muscarine again turns into a syrupy liquid. It dissolves well in alcohol and water, very poorly in chloroform and does not dissolve at all in ether. If it is heated above 100 degrees, then its destruction occurs, while a not too perceptible smell of tobacco appears. When treated with lead oxide or caustic alkali and heated, it is converted to trimethylamine, and forms crystalline salts with sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. There is an assumption that the structure of muscarine is similar to that of choline (C5H15NO2):
H3C / CH2CH (OH) 2
H3C - N
H3C / OH
But the experiments of Schmiedeberg and Harnack show that an artificial alkaloid, obtained synthetically from choline, acts differently on animals than a natural one. These experiments showed that artificial and natural muscarines are not identical.
Significance for medicine
Both a natural mushroom alkaloid and a compound obtained synthetically are not currently used for medicinal purposes, but at the same time their medical value is very great. In the old days, attempts were made to treat epilepsy and oncological processes of the glands with muscarin. It was also proposed to use it for eye diseases and for the treatment of ulcers. But all these experiments were stopped due to the exceptional toxicity of the compound.
But muscarine is of great toxic, theoretical and pharmacological importance. It belongs to the parasympathicotropic group of poisons, which have an exciting effect on peripheral parasympathicotropic nerves, while the alkaloid strictly selectively acts on the nervous system. This feature gives him great value as a pharmacological agent that can be used in experiments like or instead of electrical stimulation.
If in small doses natural muscarine into the body of the animal, then there is a slowdown in cardiac activity (negative inotropic and chronotropic effect), and in large doses it first causes a slowdown and weakening of systolic contractions. And then in the diastolic phase, there is a complete cardiac arrest.
Action on the body
Studies by various scientists show that muscarine has a paralyzing effect on the peripheral nervous system of the respiratory tract, causes an increased contraction of the muscles of the stomach and intestines, and the movement of the intestines is visible even through the lining of the abdominal wall. If muscarine is injected in a large dose, it causes erratic peristaltic movements, which are replaced by anti-peristalsis, vomiting and diarrhea begin. A clear sign of muscarine poisoning is the spastic nature of the contractions of the entire stomach or its individual sections, followed by relaxation. According to Schmiedeberg, muscarine has a very strong effect on the intestines and stomach, not only due to its effect on the endings of the vagus nerves, which are located in these organs, but also due to the effect on the cells of the Auerbach plexus ganglion. Also, this alkaloid causes spastic contractions in other smooth muscle organs, for example, in the uterus, spleen and bladder. The contraction occurs as a result of the irritating effect of the substance on the peripheral receptors of the parasympathetic nerves located in these organs, as well as as a result of the effect on automatic nerve ganglion devices, by analogy with how it occurs in the heart. The pupil of the eye under the influence of muscarin is greatly narrowed, and a spasm of accommodation develops. These two phenomena are due to the action of the alkaloid on the receptors of the parasympathetic fibers of the oculomotor nerve, which are located in the circular nerves of the iris and in the ciliary muscle.
Schmiedeberg found that mushroom muscarine does not act on motor nerves, in contrast to artificial muscarin, which paralyzes motor nerve endings. This was later confirmed by Hans Meyer and Gonda. Thus, only synthetic muscarine derived from choline has curariform properties.
Mushroom muscarine activates the glands gastrointestinal tract, stimulates the secretion of bile and pancreatic juice. It also increases salivation, sweating and lacrimation. The secretion of saliva under the action of muscarin is explained by the fact that it irritates the peripheral nerve endings (this was proved by Schmiedeberg). The secretion of all other glands is enhanced by the irritating action of muscarin on their separating nerves. In this case, peripheral nerve endings are the target of muscarinic action.
The direct antagonist of muscarin is atropine, which blocks the effect of muscarin by paralyzing the endings of the parasympathetic nerves. This is manifested in cases where muscarine has an irritating effect on the peripheral receptors of any of the parasympathetic nerves. Therefore, atropine quickly reverses diastolic cardiac arrest and deceleration heart rate triggered by muscarine. Also, atropine stops increased peristalsis, antiperistalsis and spasms of the stomach and intestines, spasm of accommodation and contraction of the pupil, contraction Bladder, as well as enhanced secretory function of various glands (sweat, salivary and others). Atropine sulfate has its antagonistic effect on muscarine in a sufficiently small amount (0.001-0.1 mg). It is also known that muscarine stops the action of atropine on the frog heart, eyes, submandibular gland and sweat glands. Therefore, there is an opinion that muscarine and atropine are mutual antagonists. But at the same time, a lot of muscarine (up to 7 g) is required for the effect of atropine to cease. In this regard, it is hardly appropriate to say that muscarine has a specific effect relative to atropine, and many pharmacologists are of the opinion that the question of the bilateral antagonism of these two compounds has not yet been resolved.
Also antagonists of muscarine include aconitine, hyoscyamine, veratrin, scopolamine, physostigmine, digitalin, dolphin, camphor, gelleborine, chloral hydrate, adrenaline. There is Interesting Facts stated by Zondek that calcium chloride also has an antagonistic effect on muscarine.
The sensitivity of different animals to muscarine can vary greatly. So the cat dies from subcutaneous injection of muscarine at a dose of 4 mg after a few hours, and at a dose of 12 mg after 10-15 minutes. Dogs tolerate higher doses of the alkaloid. People have a very high sensitivity to this substance. Schmiedeberg and Koppé conducted experiments on themselves and found that the injection of muscarine at a dose of 3 mg already causes poisoning, which is manifested by very strong salivation, rush of blood to the head, dizziness, weakness, reddening of the skin, nausea and sharp pain in the abdomen, tachycardia, disorder vision and spasm of accommodation. There is also increased sweating on the face and slightly less sweating on other parts of the body.
Poisoning pattern
In case of mushroom poisoning, the picture may be similar to the description of muscarine poisoning, but usually it still differs due to the fact that they contain various poisonous atropine-like substances and other compounds that, on the one hand, affect the central nervous system, and on the other hand, stop the action of muscarine. Therefore, poisoning can be characterized by either symptoms from the stomach and intestines (nausea, vomiting, pain, diarrhea) or completely different symptoms, for example, a state of intoxication, accompanied by delirium and strong agitation, dizziness, an irrepressible desire to destroy everything around, the need for movement. Then there is a tremor throughout the body, epileptiform and tetanic convulsions occur, the pupil expands, the rapid pulse becomes much less frequent, breathing is disturbed, becomes irregular, the body temperature drops sharply and a state of collapse develops. In this condition, death occurs in two to three days. In case of recovery, a person recovers very slowly, a state of hyperleukocytosis is observed in the blood, and the blood itself coagulates very poorly. But today there is no reliable and fully confirmed data on changes in blood, just as there is no data on pathological changes in case of poisoning.
First aid
First of all, in case of mushroom poisoning, you need to remove the contents from the stomach and intestines. To do this, use emetics, gastric lavage with a probe, and the intestines with an enema. Inside, castor oil is drunk in large doses. If symptoms of poisoning, characteristic of muscarin, prevail, then atropine is injected subcutaneously. If the poisoning develops mainly under the influence of atropine-like substances, then atropine cannot be used as an antidote.
Artificial muscarine, which is derived from choline, is the most studied. Very little is known about other artificial muscarines. Anhydromuscarin increases the secretion of sweat and saliva, and does not affect the eyes and heart in any way. It causes death due to respiratory paralysis. Isomuscarin does not cause cardiac arrest, but it slows down the heart rate, which can be reversed by atropine. In birds, it leads to a contraction of the pupil, and in mammals it has a curariform effect on the motor nerves and enhances the secretory function of the glands, does not affect the eyes and intestines, but it increases blood pressure. Ptomatomuscarin has a similar effect to choline muscarin, which suggests that they have a similar chemical structure. The pharmacological action of uromuscarins has not yet been studied in any way. The same can be said about the pharmacological action of carnomuscarin.
Muscarine is an alkaloid found in fly agarics. These mushrooms have such a characteristic color that it is almost impossible to accidentally eat them. However, a tincture of fly agaric containing muscarine is used by traditional healers in medicinal purposes, and some people - with the aim of causing drug intoxication. This can lead to serious, life-threatening poisoning.
Source: depositphotos.com
Muscarine belongs to the quaternary amines, it does not cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore does not affect the central nervous system, but at the same time causes serious dysfunctions of the peripheral nervous system.
Muscarin has a selective stimulating effect on cholinergic receptors, which for this very reason are called muscarinic or m-receptors. When they are excited, the blood vessels expand, the smooth muscle fibers spasm, the secretion of the glands increases, and the heart rate decreases. Large doses of muscarine can lead to cardiac arrest in the diastole phase, i.e., in a relaxed state.
With muscarine poisoning, the spasm of smooth muscle fibers is so pronounced that in thin people, intestinal peristalsis becomes visible through the anterior abdominal wall. With severe poisoning, bowel contractions lose their undulating character and become chaotic. As a result, diarrhea develops, and stomach cramps cause vomiting.
Against the background of muscarine poisoning, a sharp contraction of the uterus and bladder occurs, so involuntary urination is possible, and in pregnant women, miscarriage or premature birth.
Muscarinic excitation of nerve receptors leads to increased secretion of sweat, lacrimal and salivary glands. It also underlies the development of spasm of accommodation and pupil contraction, resulting in visual impairment.
Poisoning symptoms
Symptoms of muscarine poisoning develop 15-30 minutes after ingestion of the poison. These include:
- hypersalivation;
- moist skin;
- nausea and vomiting;
- pronounced redness of the face;
- cramping abdominal pain;
- diarrhea;
- heart rhythm disturbances;
- a sharp decrease in blood pressure;
- breathing disorders;
- convulsions;
- false myopia.
Source: depositphotos.com
First aid for muscarine poisoning
First aid measures are aimed at the earliest possible elimination of the toxin from the body.
- If the victim is conscious, rinse the stomach. To do this, drink a few glasses warm water and then induce vomiting, irritating the root of the tongue. Repeat rinsing until particles of previously taken food are no longer detected in the vomit.
- Take a sorbent (Activated carbon, Smecta, Filtrum STI or any other).
Before the arrival of the doctor, the victims should not be given any other medicines, especially painkillers and antispasmodics, as this can change the clinical picture and complicate the diagnosis.
When is medical attention needed?
With mild poisoning with muscarine, the symptoms are not too pronounced, they usually disappear within a day, and the condition of the victims improves. However, it is impossible to independently determine the severity of the poisoning, therefore, apply for medical help if you suspect muscarine poisoning is always necessary. It is especially important to do this quickly when the poisoning occurs with intense symptoms or occurs in a pregnant woman, elderly person or child.
In the hospital, the victims are washed with a gastric tube.
The antidote to muscarine is atropine. The dose and frequency of administration is determined by the doctor, taking into account the degree of poisoning and individual characteristics the patient.
In addition to specific therapy for muscarine poisoning, drug correction of existing disorders is carried out.
Possible complications
In severe poisoning with muscarine, severe cardiovascular and respiratory failure develops, against which a fatal outcome can occur.
In pregnant women, muscarine poisoning often results in miscarriage or premature birth.
Prophylaxis
For the prevention of muscarine poisoning, active sanitary and educational work with the population should be carried out. It is unacceptable to eat fly agarics, as well as to use preparations from them for self-medication.
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Amanita, known to all of us, contain a dangerous toxic substance - muscarine. Its name comes from the name of this mushroom in Latin.
This alkaloid has complex effects on the central nervous system. In severe cases of poisoning, symptoms of pulmonary edema and death occur. And the treatment of poisoning requires urgent resuscitation measures.
What is Muscarine
Muscarine is an alkaloid that is extremely hazardous to health. It was discovered in the 19th century in the red fly agaric. The fungus is often found in the forests of the European continent and Siberia. It is noteworthy that fresh fly agaric is poisonous to flies, but in dried form it is absolutely harmless to them.
Until now, scientists do not fully know what muscarine is, since many peoples use it for food or for medicinal purposes. So, the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka make a drink with intoxicating properties from fly agarics. In addition, other alkaloids with toxic properties have been found in the fly agaric.
Muscarine - an alkaloid is a colorless liquid, very thick and gradually turning into crystals when dried in the presence of sulfuric acid. In air, the crystals become liquid again. It dissolves well in water and ethyl alcohol. Muscarine is destroyed by heating, contact with alkalis, lead oxide.
Where is muscarine
Mushroom lovers need to know which mushrooms contain muscarine so that they do not accidentally fall into the basket.
In addition to fly agaric, a dangerous substance is contained in whitish talker, fiber, as well as in mushrooms of the spiderweb genus. Among them - gebeloma, fire.
The presence of muscarine in pigs has also been proven. This conditionally edible mushroom is very cunning. So, overgrown specimens are capable of accumulating muscarine. It has been proven that under favorable conditions for growth, muscarine can accumulate in a slender pig in a fairly large amount. So it is best to refuse to use pigs. It is not necessary to collect a fat pig, as it accumulates a lot of toxic substances, and even has a very mediocre taste.
How does muscarine work?
The mechanism of action of muscarine is that it paralyzes the airways and causes contraction of the muscles of the stomach and intestines. The so-called muscarinic receptors located in the nervous system are responsible for the perception of this poison. These receptors transmit nerve signals. The receptors bind the alkaloid muscarine and are blocked by atropine. Muscarinic receptors are responsible for the contraction of smooth muscles, vasodilation, they lower the heart rate, increase the secretion of the glands. Large doses of muscarine cause diastolic cardiac arrest - that is, it stops in a relaxed state.
The activation of muscarinic receptors leads to a strong contraction of smooth muscles. Often, the contraction of the bowel becomes visible through the abdominal wall. With a large use of muscarine, erratic intestinal spasms occur. Vomiting very quickly joins diarrhea. A very strong contraction of the stomach is also characteristic. The alkaloid causes contraction of the uterus, spleen, and bladder.
Under the influence of muscarin, the pupil contracts, and a spasm of accommodation occurs. The secretion of bile, pancreatic juice, saliva, sweat, and tears is activated.
Muscarine Poisoning Symptoms
Muscarine poisoning has the following symptoms:
- copious secretion of saliva;
- severe redness of the face;
- nausea and vomiting;
- stomach ache;
- diarrhea;
- heart rhythm disorders;
- lowering blood pressure up to a collaptoid state (a life-threatening condition with a deterioration in the blood supply to all organs);
- contraction of the bronchi and significant secretion of the bronchial glands lead to the fact that there is difficulty in breathing, blue skin, convulsions.
Such symptoms appear within 15-30 minutes after taking muscarine inside. In pregnant women, the alkaloid leads to lactation, that is, to the separation of milk. Attention is drawn to a visual disorder caused by a spasm of accommodation - false myopia. In this case, the victim sees all objects indistinctly, his field of vision is blurred.
During the day, the condition of the poisoned improves. However, in some cases, the poisoning progresses and death occurs. The cause of death is respiratory distress. The prognosis for mild muscarine poisoning is significantly improved.
First aid to the victim
Acute muscarine poisoning requires immediate treatment. Just half a gram of muscarine can cause death. Therefore, the first thing to do in case of poisoning with mushrooms containing muscarine is to call an ambulance.
Before the ambulance arrives, it is necessary to organize urgent measures to detoxify the body. This is achieved by flushing the stomach with copious amounts of water. It is necessary to give the patient enough water to drink, and then artificially induce vomiting. You can add a little potassium permanganate to the water - so that it is light pink. You can stop flushing only when the water that comes out of the stomach becomes completely transparent.
After the stomach is flushed, it is necessary to give the victim activated charcoal - one tablet is calculated for 10 kilograms of a person's weight. Or any other sorbent will do. It is also necessary to flush the intestines with enemas.
Before the arrival of a team of doctors, it is not necessary to try to give the patient injections, pain relievers, antispasmodics, etc. Thus, the picture of the disease will be distorted and treatment may be ineffective.
Treating muscarine poisoning
The antidote to muscarine is atropine. Muscarine receptors are blocked under the influence of atropine. In turn, muscarine is an antidote (or antagonist) to atropine, so these alkaloids are so-called mutual antagonists.
Antidotes for this mushroom poison can also be:
The antidote effect of atropine is due to paralysis of the parasympathetic nerves.
Atropine also stops the increased peristalsis of the stomach, the activity of the salivary glands. In order for the antidote effect to be activated, only 0.1 gram of atropine is needed.
In addition to using the antidote, treatment consists of the following procedures.
The prognosis for mushroom poisoning with muscarine is much more favorable than for pale toadstool. However, when the patient is in a prolonged unconscious state and a drop in cardiac activity, the prognosis worsens. In favorable cases, recovery occurs on the second or third day. In the worst cases of poisoning and with a progressive drop in cardiac activity, death can occur after a few hours or on the second day with symptoms of respiratory failure.
So, muscarine poisoning is a rather serious condition, which, however, is effectively treated in modern conditions... Timely seeking medical help is the key to successful treatment.
Muscarine is one of the most poisonous alkaloids. It is contained in mushrooms, and was first isolated from the well-known fly agarics.
It is an extremely toxic substance, one gram of which can be fatal. Therefore, it is so important to know what muscarine is, how poisoning with this substance manifests itself and how you can help the victim.
The first source of muscarine was the common red fly agaric, widespread in Europe and Siberia. Today, in laboratory experiments, both natural muscarine and an artificial one obtained from choline are used. The action of these two toxins is slightly different, but both are deadly to humans.
Natural muscarine, a mushroom alkaloid, is extracted from raw, freshly picked amanitas using ordinary ethyl alcohol, in which the substance easily dissolves. It is also water soluble. The finished toxin looks like a colorless liquid, viscous, without a characteristic odor.
When dried over sulfuric acid, it easily crystallizes, and after returning to air, it again becomes a liquid. When heated to 100 ° C, muscarine is destroyed. Contact with alkalis and lead oxide can also destroy it.
Despite the obvious toxicity of muscarine and the presence of other toxins in fly agarics, some peoples traditionally prepare drugs and narcotic drinks from these mushrooms. Until the end, their effect has not yet been studied.
Where is muscarine
In the natural environment, muscarine is found only in mushrooms. Its most famous source is the red fly agaric. But there is very little of this poison in it. Many fly agarics do not contain this toxin at all and are even considered edible. And the record holders for muscarine content are fiber and whitish talker.
In total, there are 150 types of fiber and muscarine is not present in all. And seven species are hallucinogens, as they contain psilobicin.
You can also find muscarine in conditionally edible mushrooms pigs. The exact concentration of the substance in them is not known, since the toxin is not found in all individuals.
Muscarine accumulates only in old mushrooms, and young ones are often edible and quite safe, but this does not mean that they are worth collecting and eating, the risk always remains.
Once in the body, this toxin acts on special cholinergic receptors, which are called muscarinic. They are responsible for smooth muscle contraction and function, such as vasoconstriction and vasodilation.
They also control the heart rate, the secretion of certain glands. Therefore, very high doses of muscarine can even provoke cardiac arrest - it relaxes and just remains in this state.
In parallel with the effect on the cardiovascular system, activation of muscarinic receptors provokes a strong contraction of intestinal smooth muscles. Very severe cramps begin, which can be seen even through the abdominal wall, causing vomiting and diarrhea. At the same time, the spleen, uterus and bladder are also reduced, and the secretion of bile and pancreatic juice increases.
Artificial muscarine, unlike natural muscarine, can also cause paralysis by affecting motor nerves. But none of the toxins practically acts on the central nervous system, since it cannot penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, for some time a person remains conscious and sober memory.
How does muscarine poisoning manifest?
Signs of poisoning with pure muscarine and poisonous mushrooms containing this substance can be very different. This is due to the fact that toadstools also contain other toxins that can cause new symptoms, enhance or block the action of muscarin itself. Therefore, the use of mushrooms almost never gives a clinical picture of muscarine poisoning.
By the way, in order to get a lethal dose of muscarine from the red fly agaric, you will have to eat about 3-4 kg of freshly picked mushrooms without heat treatment, since under the influence high temperature the substance disintegrates. Few people are capable of such a "feat".
The rate of manifestation of muscarine poisoning depends on the dose received. Usually, the first signs appear about 0.5-2 hours after the toxin enters the body. The main symptoms include:
- Strong and rapid constriction of the pupils and the development of false (reversible) myopia, which leads to a spasm of accommodation;
- Uncontrolled salivation and lacrimation, severe sweating;
- Sharp twisting pain in the abdomen, accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea;
- Trembling in the body and convulsions (in case of poisoning with piece muscarine);
- Rapid decrease in blood pressure;
- Difficulty breathing.
With very severe poisoning, a collapse may occur, provoked by a sharp drop in vascular tone.
How to provide first aid for muscarine poisoning
If you suspect muscarine poisoning, you must immediately call doctors, and then you can try to provide first aid to the victim:
- Try to flush the stomach by removing the remains of the toxic substance from it. To do this, you need to seat the victim and give him a few glasses of cold salted water to drink. Then induce vomiting by pressing on the base of the tongue or tickling the back of the throat. This procedure must be repeated until the water begins to enter clean.
- Take a laxative to cleanse the intestines if it hasn't already happened on its own. You can also use an enema.
- Drink up activated carbon or any other sorbent other than Smecta, which has the ability to stop diarrhea.
Painkillers, antispasmodics and other medications should not be taken, as they distort the clinical picture and complicate the diagnosis.
After first aid is provided, and the stomach and intestines of the victim are cleansed, the treatment of poisoning begins in the hospital.
Usually doctors take the following measures:
- Subcutaneous administration of atropine. It is an antidote to muscarine, an alkaloid found in some plants, such as nightshade and dope. After administration of atropine, the increased activity of the glands and abdominal cramps stop.
- Cleansing the blood of toxin by intravenous administration of a glucose solution or other suitable liquid.
- In case of respiratory failure, an oxygen mask or mechanical ventilation may be used.
- Caffeine and camphor are used to stimulate heart activity.
Atropine is not used in all cases, but only if the symptoms of muscarinic intoxication prevail over others. If the effect of other fungal toxins that have entered the body is more pronounced, the principles of treatment change. In addition, there are other muscarine antidotes - these are hyoscyamine, veratrin, aconitine, digitalin, physostigmine, chloral hydrate.
The prognosis for mushroom muscarine poisoning is quite favorable. Under the conditions of timely and competent treatment, recovery begins on the second or third day. Respiratory failure develops only with the most severe poisoning, which can be fatal.
The value of muscarine for medicine and pharmaceuticals
After the isolation of pure muscarine, attempts were made to use it to treat eye diseases and epilepsy, glandular tumors and ulcers. But over time, these experiments were recognized as unsuccessful and were discontinued due to the high toxicity of the test substance. Muscarine is not used in modern medicine.
Today it is used only for theoretical research. This toxin acts on peripheral parasympathicotropic nerves, and therefore replaces electrical irritation in animal experiments. Such experiments are necessary for the development of drugs and the search for new therapies.
Muscarine is a naturally occurring alkaloid found in some poisonous mushrooms ... Despite the strong toxicity of the chemical compound, traditional healers use fly agaric tincture to treat cancer. From these mushrooms, people with drug addiction prepare solutions that cause euphoria and hallucinations. So, muscarine poisoning is not uncommon. In case of an overdose or a fatal mistake when collecting mushrooms, intoxication develops, sometimes ending in the death of a person.
Characteristics of muscarine
An interesting fact is that muscarine synthesized in the laboratory differs significantly from that contained in amanita. When conducting experiments on amphibians, the identity of artificial and natural alkaloids was not established.
Muscarine is able to dissolve quickly in aqueous and alcohol-containing liquids, but in ethers it is absolutely insoluble. The poisonous substance manifests itself in the process of chemical reactions as follows:
- At the boiling point of water, the alkaloid decomposes to form a faint tobacco smoke aroma.
- If liquid muscarine is treated with lead oxide or a strong base, a tertiary amine is formed, which is flammable and hygroscopic.
- Sulfuric and hydrochloric acids hydrolyze the alkaloid, turning it into colorless crystals.
Scientists tried to isolate natural muscarine at the beginning of the last century. Poisonous compounds were obtained from the urine of rabbits, cats, as well as the decaying corpse of navaga. But they are all just isomers of mushroom muscarine. This does not interfere with combining all alkaloids into one group and not abandoning attempts to synthesize an artificial toxin, which would be a complete analogue of the poison from fly agaric.
The value of muscarine for medicine and toxicology
Natural mushroom alkaloids, like synthetic ones, are not used for the treatment of diseases. In pharmacology, medicine, toxicology Muscarine is being researched for possible use as medicinal product
... Several decades ago, doctors tried to use a toxic compound to relieve symptoms of epilepsy, benign and malignant neoplasms.
Inflammatory eye pathologies, glandular tumors, trophic ulcers were previously treated with weak dilutions of muscarine. But the frequent occurrence of poisoning nullified such attempts at therapy of diseases.
An alkaloid belongs to a type of parasympathicotropic toxins. This group of poisons stimulates the peripheral nervous system, exhibiting a selective effect. A rare ability that offers great promise for further study. physical and chemical properties muscarin, its possible use in the treatment of various pathologies.
The toxic compound is used in experimental studies to study the functional activity of cholinergic processes, the structure of cholinergic receptors. After the introduction of small doses of alkaloid, amphibians were diagnosed with a violation of the heart rhythm. If the amount of poison used was above average, then the systolic contractions at first slowed down and became weaker. And the diastolic phase was characterized by complete cardiac arrest. Muscarine, isolated from mushrooms, has the following properties:
- increases the secretion of bile, increases the secretion of pancreatic juice;
- activates the glands located in the gastrointestinal tract;
- increases the activity of the salivary, sweat and lacrimal glands.
Muscarine irritates nerve endings, provoking increased work of any gland... The study of the alkaloid allowed scientists to synthesize an effective antidote. With the introduction of the antidote at various stages of poisoning, a complete recovery of the victims was noted.
How can you get poisoned with muscarine?
Be extremely careful when collecting and processing mushrooms.... Of course, a bright large fly agaric is difficult to confuse with other representatives of the mushroom kingdom. But fruiting bodies with red caps are not the main sources of muscarine. The combination of several poisons, which they use to kill harmful insects and slugs, gives the fly agarics a special toxicity.
Lovers quiet hunting often get poisoned when picking conditionally edible mushrooms containing muscarine. Some forest gifts accumulate a large amount of poison in the autumn, without having a toxic effect on the human body at other times.
In addition to the red and panther fly agaric, muscarine is found in the following mushrooms:
- Various types of fiberglass.
- Cracking talker.
- The talker is whitish.
- Pink mycene.
A large amount of muscarine was found in the composition of mushrooms belonging to the spiderweb family, especially in the gebeloma and moth. The preparation of forest products by the dry salting method, without preliminary heat treatment, is extremely dangerous.... Any of the above mushrooms, once in a tub with edible fruiting bodies in a single copy, will provoke acute muscarinic poisoning.
Toxicologists have long warned of the presence of high doses of alkaloid in tasty pigs. The insidiousness of these mushrooms lies in the ability of mature specimens to accumulate muscarine in significant concentrations. When using plump pig, doctors often diagnose poisoning, the main symptom of which is intestinal dysfunction.
The mechanism of natural alkaloid poisoning
Since the alkaloid belongs to amines, it does not have the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barriers (the physiological barrier between the bloodstream and the central nervous system). Muscarine does not have a damaging effect on the central nervous system, but it provokes a decrease in the functional activity of peripheral nerve endings... Under its influence, cholinergic receptors, called M-receptors, or muscarinic receptors, are selectively excited. After increasing their activity:
- blood vessels (veins, arteries, capillaries) expand;
- a spasm of smooth muscles occurs;
- heart contractions slow down.
In case of poisoning with significant doses of an alkaloid the rhythm is so weakened that there is a complete cardiac arrest.
Muscarine intoxication is accompanied by a severe spasm of smooth muscle fibers. This is especially noticeable in a person with a lack of body weight: in the abdominal region, undulating, chaotic movements are visible during peristalsis.
Bowel contractions are especially dangerous for pregnant women, as they can provoke a miscarriage in any trimester. Therefore, gynecologists recommend that when carrying a child and during lactation, refuse to eat dishes with mushrooms. Fruiting bodies with muscarine, which are conditionally edible species, are especially dangerous.
Symptoms of muscarinic poisoning
Signs of intoxication with fly agaric resemble the symptoms of poisoning with m-cholinomimetics, including muscarin. But there are differences, because these mushrooms contain other toxic compounds that have properties similar to atropine. Such poisons are capable of arresting the damaging action of muscarinic nerve endings and cause their characteristic signs.
The combination of the symptoms of atropine and muscarine in case of mushroom poisoning leads to a characteristic clinical picture. The victim's body partially loses the ability to coagulate blood, which can cause internal hemorrhage.
After eating mushrooms containing exclusively muscarine, a person develops symptoms of poisoning with this alkaloid. The stimulating effect of a toxic substance on smooth muscle fibers causes a strong contraction of the gastric wall, spleen, and the middle lining of the bladder. Ingestion of even a small dose of muscarine into the body provokes the following signs of poisoning:
- Hyperthermia develops, which provokes a fever, chills, cold sweat.
- The work of the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted. The victim develops nausea, and then vomiting opens. With small doses of muscarine, a person suffers from sour belching, flatulence, bloating, pain in the epigastric region, and a feeling of bitterness in the mouth.
- This type of poisoning is characterized by diarrhea and involuntary bowel movements.
- Visible symptoms include a bright blush, profuse sweating, pallor and dryness of the skin, and dilated pupils.
- The heart rate slows down, the pulse becomes threadlike, and breathing is shallow and labored.
- The work of the urinary system is disrupted, urine becomes dark in color and an unpleasant odor.
- The resulting slight arterial hypertension is replaced by a sharp drop in pressure to the lowest readings. Collapse may develop due to a decrease in the volume and speed of circulating blood.
After 20 minutes, the first development of poisoning in the victim develops a tremor of the lower and upper extremities, turning into intense convulsions. The person experiences anxiety, fear, dizziness, drowsiness. After half an hour, coordination of movements is disturbed, tendon and muscle reflexes are reduced.
An important symptom of poisoning is a spasm of accommodation, which causes false myopia - a temporary visual impairment. The victim of muscarine cannot distinguish objects that are at arm's length from him. Milk starts to leak in women who are breastfeeding.
Respiratory disorders and cardiac arrest are always the cause of death from muscarine intoxication. A coma in the absence of treatment lasts 1-2 days, and then the person dies. If the dose of the toxic substance was insignificant, then the prognosis for full recovery is favorable.
First aid for poisoning
The lethal dose of muscarine is 0.5 g... If even minor symptoms of poisoning occur, an ambulance should be called immediately. Before the arrival of the doctor, you need to alleviate the condition of the victim by taking following measures help:
- lay the person on his side, calm him down;
- induce vomiting with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate until clear water leaves the stomach;
- give the victim toxin-binding drugs: adsorbents or enterosorbents.
Strong sweet tea binds muscarine well, since it contains a lot of tannin... The doctor, if necessary, will hospitalize the patient, inject him with an antidote, put on a drip with salt and glucose solutions. You can not carry out self-treatment using antispasmodics or diuretics. Ignorance of the mechanisms of poisoning will lead to serious complications, death of a person.
