Suicide Tree: Classification, Characteristics, Extracts, and Toxicity

Plants are known to have anti-insect properties, including larvicidal properties, due to their chemical compounds. It was used as a homicide/suicide agent in India, with occasional accidental poisoning, notably among youngsters who mistook the fruit for food. According to Indian data, Cerbera odollam poisoning accounted for 50% of all plant-based poisoning incidents in Kerala, India between 1989 and 1999. C. odollam is a member of the Apocynaceae family, which includes yellow oleander (Thevetia sp.) and common oleander (Narium sp.). Both of them are toxic.
In the early nineteenth century, the first accurate descriptions of the toxin were written down (Gaillard et al., 2004). It is used by the Burmese for illumination, as a cosmetic, and as a pesticide or insect repellant when blended with other oils (Chopra et al., 1956). Guruswami et al. (1970) investigated the pharmacological effects of a crude ethanolic extract of C. odollam seed on 50 frogs’ hearts, finding that the predominant effect was to decrease the heart’s impulse-producing and conducing tissues. The leaves and bark are eaten in various areas for their cathartic qualities (Chopra et al., 1958).

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