Arrow Poisons and Curares .

1. ARROW POISONS AND
CURARES

3. OUTLINE:
ARROW POISONS AND CURARES
Arrow poisons
o Chondrodendron (Menispermaceae)
+ used medicinally
+ usually a "tube" curare
o Strychnos (Loganiaceae)
+ usually a "calabash" curare
Other curares
Chemistry
Iboga

4. Reading

5. Introduction
• Many plant products are used in "primitive
societies" to capture or kill game. These
range from those used to coat or tip arrows
and spears to those used to poison or stun
fish (sometimes called piscicides or
barbascos).
• Although we don't often consider it, we have
benefited from these unusual (to us) uses in
that we use these compounds medicinally
and for insecticides.

7. Curares or arrow poisons
• Arrow poisons have been used by almost all
primitive societies. Similar substances also
were used in Western Europe several
thousand years ago. They are still used in
South America, some parts of Africa, and in
Southeast Asia.
• The term curare is from a South American
aboriginal word. The plants upon which the
arrow poisons are based, the method of
preparation and the utilization of the materials
differ greatly from culture to culture.

8. • In South America, many are based on
Strychnos (Loganiaceae) species (often
called calabash curares) and others on
Chondrodendron (Menispermaceae)
(often called tube curares).

9. Making a blow gun from the petiole of a palm frond
J. Man, Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The
Waorani. Time-Life Books, 1982

10. Applying curare to the
tips of the darts
J. Man, Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The
Waorani. Time-Life Books, 1982

11. Kapok wadding for the
darts
Notching the darts
Courtesy Dr. Walter Lewis
J. Man, Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The
Waorani. Time-Life Books, 1982

12. Loading a dart into the blow gun
J. Man, Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The
Waorani. Time-Life Books, 1982

13. Hunting with blow guns
Courtesy Dr. Walter Lewis

14. Strychnos sp., Loganiaceae
• Curares made from Strychnos species in
South America are often called calabash
curares because they are stored in small
gourds or calabashes.
• Curares from other Strychnos species are
used in Africa and Asia as well.

15. Strychnos sp., Loganiaceae

16. A Strychnos fruit and
seeds

17. Chondrodendron tomentosa, Menispermaceae
• Curares made from Chondrodendron
species in South America are often called
tube curares because they are stored in
small sections or tubes of bamboo.

18. Chondrodendron
tomentosa,
Menispermaceae
R. Bentley and H. Trimen, Medicinal Plants,
London, Churchill, 1880

19. Chondrodendron flowers

20. Squeezing sap out of Chondrodendron lianas
J. Man, Jungle Nomads of Ecuador: The
Waorani. Time-Life Books, 1982

21. Cissampelos pareira,
Menispermaceae

22. Cissampelos pareira,
Menispermaceae

23. • It should be noted, however, that calabash
and tube curares are terms based on the type
of containers used in various cultures and do
not say anything about what plants are used
to make the arrow poisons. Generally, the
correlations noted above hold.
• Calabashes are small gourds and tube
means a section of bamboo.
• Arrow poisons are also stored in small
pottery containers by people of some
cultures.

24. • The preparation of these mixtures is usually
complicated and many plant materials are
used in addition to the major active ones.
Some of these have been shown to have
synergistic effects.
• Once prepared, the dose is often
standardized by shooting small birds or
animals of particular species and noting the
amount necessary to kill them. Death usually
occurs by asphyxiation.
• Most curares are not considered toxic orally,
but some accounts suggest that consuming
them can be hazardous.

25. • In general, the active compounds are organic
bases called alkaloids.
• The alkaloids from both tube and calabash
curares have been used medicinally.
• They cause complete relaxation of skeletal
muscles. They are used in certain types of
surgery.

26. • In Africa, Strychnos species are also often
used to make curares.
• In Siberia, Alaska, and in Japan (among the
Ainu), plants of the genus Aconitum
(Ranunculaceae) were favored.

27. Wolfbane, Aconitum napellus, Ranunculaceae

28. • In other areas, plants of the
Euphorbiaceae and Apocynaceae
containing cardiac glycosides were
used.

29. Upas tree, Antiaris
toxicaria,
Euphorbiaceae
E. Gilg and K. Schumann, "Das Pflanzenreich.
Hausschatz des Wissens.", Fig. 311, Kurt Stüber,
ca. 1900

30. Acokanthera
venenata,
Apocynaceae

31. Jequirity, Abrus precatorius,
Fabaceae
Other arrow poison plants

32. Erythrophleum spp.,
Fabaceae

33. Calabar bean,
Physostigma venenosum,
Fabaceae
R. Bentley and H. Trimen, Medicinal Plants,
London, Churchill, 1880