Kidney tea is an annual vine of Cucurbitaceae. Its main toxic substance is cucurbitacin. One of the most famous is the Gelsemium of the genus Gelsemium of Loganiaceae.

The root of Gelsemium elegans contains gelsemin (cucurbitacin), which smells slightly when it leaves the soil, but it will make people dizzy if it smells too much. Gelsemium elegans leaves contain gelsemin A, Chennai, etc. Among them, the content of gelsemin is the highest, and gelsemin is the most toxic.

Gelsemium elegans can grow in the sunny places of hills, sparse forests or shrubs of 200-2000 meters, widely distributed in China and Southeast Asia, and produced in China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hainan and Taiwan Province provinces.

Extended data:

The main toxic components of Gelsemium elegans are various alkaloids (including gelsemin), including strong neurotoxicity. Excessive intake will lead to a strong reaction of digestive system, circulatory system and respiratory system, and the intestine will turn black and sticky. Symptoms of poisoning include salivation, nausea, thirst and dysphagia.

Vagus nerve can slow down, speed up and make the heartbeat abnormal, resulting in cold limbs, pale face, body temperature stagnation and blood pressure drop. Poisoning can cause spasm, respiratory muscle paralysis, suffocation, coma and shock in the later stage, and even death due to heart failure or respiratory failure.

Its toxicology mainly inhibits the respiratory center of medulla oblongata. Severe inhibition will cause acidosis and eventually die of respiratory failure due to paralysis of respiratory center and medulla oblongata respiratory muscles. At the same time, it can also inhibit the motor center of the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle paralysis.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Herba Lysimachiae