toxic effect and treatment of DATURA poisoning

1. DATURA
Mr. Sunil Ahirwar
Tutor
Dept. of Forensic Medicine
& Toxicology
Sakshi Medical College &
Research Centre, Guna,
India

2. Deliriant Poison- Which poison shown deliriant effect
are categorized in this group.
For e.g. :
1. Datura, 2. Cannabis Indica, 3. Cocaine, 4. Atropa
Belladonna, 5. Hyoscyamus Niger etc..
Deliriant-
1. A temporary state of mental confusion and flu
ctuating consciousness resulting from high fever,
intoxication, shock, or other causes.
2. A state of uncontrolled excitement or emotion
:sports fans in delirium after their team's victory.

3. Datura
• It is a wild plant found in every where in India.
• It grows in waste places.
• Many variety found of datura plant-
Datura fastuosa grow in plain land these are two type:
Datura alba (white flowered plant) &
Datura niger (a deep purpled flowered plant)
Datura stramonium/Thorn apple (pale green stem with
large white flower) grow in high altitudes of temperate
Himalayan range.
Datura metel, Datura atrox, Datura folia, Datura
semina etc..

4. Datura seed- yellowish
brown, more or less
kidney shaped, large and
thick in size.
All part of plant are
poisonous, but the fruits and
the seeds are dangerous.
Datura Fruit- Ashy grey,
spherical in shape with
spinous projections on the
surface.
something 500 seeds present
in a fruit.

5.  Toxic principle: It contain 0.2 % to 1.4 % of
scopolamine (hyoscine) alcaloid , hyoscyamine
alcaloid and traces of atropine alcaloid.
 Scopolamine is one of the active ingredient of Truth
serum used for narco analysis.
 Position in classification: cerebral , deliriant.
 Fatal dose : 1gm (100-125 seeds)
 Fatal priod : 24 hour

6. Mode of action:
 it has got both central and peripheral action.
 Small dose; it stimulates CNS.
 Moderate dose; cause somnolence, deep
sleep.
 Larger dose; causes delirium, depression,
loss of consciousness and coma.
 Mainly anticholinergic effects CNS, CVS,
Eyes, Smooth Muscles, Glands, Body Temp,
Local Anasthetics, decreases bronchial
secretion, etc.

7.  Sign & Symptoms:
 Hot as hare: Body temp. may rise as high
as 105-107 F
 Red as beet: Face becomes flusied,
conjuntiva red.
 Blind as bat: Pupils dilated, photophobia,
diplopia & loss of accomodation of near
vision, temporary blindness,drowsiness
leading to coma.
 Dry like bone: mouth and troat will be
dry, intense thirst
 Nausia , vomiting, drunkun gait,
drowsiness

8.  Death due to respiratory failure
 Dilated blood vessels resulting in flushing
of face.
 Muttering delirium is present in irrelavant
talking
 Ping rolling movement(also seen in
perkinsonism)
 Carphologia- picking up of imaginary
threads from cloths, bed sheets.

9.  Treatment:
 Stomach wash with Potasium permagnet
and weak solution of tanic acid.
 Strong tea , coffee specific.
 antidotes; prostigmin, pilocarpine
nitrates, physostigmine.
 Deprassion may be treated with
amphetamines.

10. Post-mortem Appearance:
 Not characteristic.
 Dilated pupils
 Gen. signs of poisoning
 Seeds resists putrefication hence can be
recovered from decomposed body.
 Test for detection:
 Physiological test: (a drop of suspected
solution is put into the eye of cat- result is
positive if there is dilation of pupils.).
 Vitale’s test, Mydriatic test, microscopic
test, chromatography, electrophorasis etc.

11.  Medico-legal Aspects
 Commercial /judicious use:
 Hakims and vaidyas use extracted juice with
butter and ghee for reduce pain in arthritis,
but it applied over broken skin, it may lead to
poisoning.
 Criminal/ injudicious use:
 Homicide
 Suicide
 Accidental
 Abortifacient

12. Thank you