A man who consumed a paste applied by a quack for joint pain develops tingling and complete numbness around the lips and tongue within an hour, followed by vomiting, hypotension, and ventricular ectopics progressing to ventricular tachycardia. Which plant poison is responsible?
- A Aconite (Vatsanabha) ✓
- B Abrus precatorius (Ratti)
- C Calotropis (Madar)
- D Cannabis indica
Correct answer: A. Aconite (Vatsanabha)
Explanation
Aconite contains the alkaloid aconitine, which keeps voltage-gated sodium channels open, causing initial perioral and lingual paresthesia and numbness, then gastrointestinal symptoms, hypotension, and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. It is used in Indian traditional medicine and accidental poisoning occurs through improperly processed roots. Abrus causes gastroenteritis and hemolysis via abrin, Calotropis causes caustic gastroenteritis, and neither produces perioral numbness with arrhythmias, killing all distractors.
Reference: Parikh's Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 7th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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