A 19-year-old student is brought to the emergency department after eating seeds given to him by a street vendor 'for exam luck'. He is agitated, has flushed dry skin, dilated pupils that do not react to light, tachycardia, and urinary retention. Temperature is 39 degrees Celsius. Which group of alkaloids is responsible?

• A Indole alkaloids
• B Tropane alkaloids ✓
• C Isoquinoline alkaloids
• D Pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Explanation

Datura fastuosa (dhatura) seeds contain the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine, which block muscarinic receptors and produce the classic anticholinergic toxidrome: hot as a hare, blind as a bat, dry as a bone, red as a beet and mad as a hatter. Indole alkaloids such as strychnine cause convulsions, isoquinoline alkaloids include morphine, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause hepatic veno-occlusive disease.

Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, K.S. Narayan Reddy, 33rd ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.