Gelsemium sempervirens 金鈎吻

POISONOUS PARTS

Whole plant.²

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Gelsemium alkaloids such as gelsemine, gelsevirine and gelseminine.^2,3

• Toxic Dose

  Reported lethal dose: about 4 g of plant extract.⁴

• Mechanism

  Not fully understood. One proposed mechanism is antagonization of the acetylcholine receptors.^2,3,5

• Poisoning Features

  Thirst, dry mouth, burning sensation in the throat and stomach, hyperthermia, sweating, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, mydriasis, palpitation, weakness, convulsion, respiratory depression , central nervous system depression and even death.^2,6,7

• Poisoning Events

  Poisoning cases due to consumption of honey derived from flowers of G. sempervirens have been reported.⁴

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment.^1,2

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Evergreen twining climbers. Stems slender, glabrous. Leaves opposite; petioles 3–5 mm long; leaf blades 3–7 × 0.9–2 cm. Inflorescence axillary, strongly fragrant. Corolla yellow, 2.5–3.5 cm long, funnelform, 5-lobed. Capsules 1.5–2.5 cm long, flattened, apex beaked with persistent base of style. Seeds 1.2–1.5 cm long, winged.⁸

CASES IN TRL

There is no G. sempervirens poisoning recorded locally. Please refer to poisonings of G. elegans for information.

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Gelsemium alkaloids can be detected by HPLC-DAD, GC-MS and LC-MS/MS.^7,9,10