Poison hemlock
Conium maculatum
Also calledHemlock
One of the most poisonous higher plants, famous as the poison that killed Socrates in 399 BC. Its alkaloid coniine paralyses the nerve-muscle junction and kills by respiratory failure. It has no safe medicinal use and is not for home use in any form.
Full natural-history sheet →What it is used for
- Pain (general)Traditional
A 2017 review notes renewed research interest in coniine as a pain reliever without addictive effects; this is laboratory work only, with no human treatment. The plant itself is lethal and must not be used.2
Safety
- Pregnancy
- Contraindicated
- Breastfeeding
- Contraindicated
- Children
- Never; all parts are poisonous.
Do not use if
- Any internal or external use
Side effects
- Vomiting, salivation, trembling, convulsions, ascending paralysis, coma and death
Dangerous lookalikes
A common weed of the carrot family; accidental human poisonings are recorded, and the alkaloids have a characteristic mousy smell.
In the healing traditions
Ancient Athens
Poison hemlock
The poison chalice given to Socrates in 399 BC contained poison hemlock.
Active compounds
- coniine
- piperidine alkaloid; nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist; the first alkaloid whose structure was established (1881) and the first synthesised (1886)
- γ-coniceine
- biosynthetic precursor of the other hemlock alkaloids
- N-methylconiine, conhydrine, pseudoconhydrine
- related piperidine alkaloids
History
Coniine's most famous victim was Socrates, sentenced to death by a chalice of poison hemlock in 399 BC. In chemistry coniine holds two records: the first alkaloid to have its structure established (1881) and the first to be synthesised (1886).
Sources
- 1.Vetter J. Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.). Food Chem Toxicol 2004
- 2.Hotti H et al. The killer of Socrates: Coniine and Related Alkaloids in the Plant Kingdom. Molecules 2017
- 3.Reynolds T. Hemlock alkaloids from Socrates to poison aloes. Phytochemistry 2005
- 4.Rizzi D et al. Clinical spectrum of accidental hemlock poisoning: neurotoxic manifestations, rhabdomyolysis and acute tubular necrosis. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1991
- 5.López TA et al. Biochemistry of hemlock (Conium maculatum L.) alkaloids and their acute and chronic toxicity in livestock. A review. Toxicon 1999
- 6.Green BT et al. Piperidine alkaloids: human and food animal teratogens. Food Chem Toxicol 2012
Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.