A child is brought to casualty after ingesting seeds of a plant in a garden hedge. She has anticholinergic features but the clinical team suspects Datura. Forensic toxicology analysis of the urine confirms tropane alkaloids. Which plant could also produce an identical toxicological picture, as it shares the same alkaloid class?

• A Cerbera manghas (sea mango)
• B Strychnos nux-vomica (strychnine plant)
• C Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) ✓
• D Cicuta maculata (water hemlock)

Explanation

Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) contains the same tropane alkaloids as Datura — atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine — and produces an identical anticholinergic toxidrome. Cerbera manghas contains cardenolide cardiac glycosides (cerberin) causing digitalis-type poisoning. Strychnos nux-vomica contains strychnine, which causes tetanic convulsions by blocking glycine receptors. Cicuta maculata (water hemlock) contains cicutoxin, a voltage-gated potassium channel blocker causing convulsions.

Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Narayan Reddy), 34th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.