Expert: JM Starkman, MD - 1/12/2012

Question
QUESTION: im researching poisonous plants for my adventure tourism course, and im currently looking up monkshood. i found a info source that explained the method of toxologic damage as Aconitine-type diterpene alkaloids bind sodium channels, causing persistant activation.   

what does this mean.

eg i know that seaside arrowgrass has a form of cyanide in it and i know that cyanide inhibits cells from using oxygen.

effectively, how does the poison in monkshood work?

ANSWER: As I'm NOT a toxicologist, I would say your question is better directed at someone who is!  While anesthesiologists DO use pharmaceuticals to create a temporary toxic "effect", they are really quite different.  The concept of manipulating sodium channels is well known throughout the scientific and medical community and can be rather confusing to one who is unfamiliar with the cellular biology involved.  They concern the cell membranes of excitable tissue (nerves and muscles), and how sodium ions flow down their gradients through specific membrane "holes" (channels) to produce electrical activity (potentials).  Get thee to a neurophysiology course! BTW, what is a "form" of cyanide?---as far as I know, CN is CN and that's that!---and yes, it inhibits the action of cytochrome oxidase.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i wasn't sure who to ask, but i guessed that being an anesthesiologist would give you access to knowledge about biological chemistry. as him sure you've guessed, the only back ground i have in this field is biology 11.

here is an excerpt from a Canadian website sanctioned by our government, http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=76&p_type=all&p_sci=comm&p_x=pp

"Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:
Two cyanogenic glycosides, triglochinin and taxiphillin, have been found in seaside arrow-grass. The cyanogenic levels in leaves are substantially elevated during periods of severe moisture stress. Newly initiated spikes (flowering stalks) yielded high levels of glycosides. Spikes therefore pose a potential threat if they are selectively grazed. A cyanogenic glycoside content of 50 mg/100 g of green seaside arrow-grass is considered lethal, even if only 0.5% of body weight is ingested (Majak et al. 1980, Cooper and Johnson 1984).
Toxic plant chemicals:
taxiphillin
triglochinin
Chemical diagram(s) are courtesy of Ruth McDiarmid, Biochemistry Technician, Kamloops Range Station, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamploops, British Columbia, Canada. "

i thought that this is depicting a form of cyanide because cyanide is only one part of this chemical.

and i suppose my example was a poor one. heres a better one: poison hemlock causes tremor, ataxia, and seizures, ascending paralysis, and CNS depression (coma); so Death is typically from respiratory failure. by knowing this i might be able to save somone's life in a back country environment by first avoiding the plant, and if that fails using activated charcoal after inducing vomiting to cleanse the stomach, and if needed after that manually supporting respiratory function.

so i guess what i'm really needing to know is, is there a way to save an individual, or at least prolong the effects of monkshood until rescue can arrive?

Answer
Since it's an adventure tourism course for which you're doing research, I'd say your best bet is to research how to identify these species such that you'll stay away from them (as they're quite dangerous if accidentally ingested or even touched)!  The serious adventurer should have a good knowledge of first aid and resusitation techniques useful in the field.  Note that in cases of cyanide poisoning, first aid won't work---an antidote administered quickly, intravenously while artificially supporting heart and breathing functions only works some of the time. For other poisonings you should know your basic and advanced resusitation and CPR techniques when you're far from medical assistance.  Good luck.