HERB - Period poisons

[MdmMalice1@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/17/99 12:06:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Bjmikita at aol.com writes:

<< Foxglove, the young leaves in a salad, and the seeds in bread or sprinkled 
 over just about anything.  Foxglove is hard to judge.  Some people would 
need 
 a whole lot and some people would need just a little.
 Caster Bean? Is this period?  This stuff is nasty.
 Jimson Weed? Once again is this period?  Both Caster Bean and Jimson Weed 
 affect some people if they just touch it.
 Oreande >>

Some posions I found listed vis-a-vis historical uses were Henbane 
(hyoscyamus niger) and Belladonna (atropa belladonna).  Arsenic was 
considered to be the basis for the "cantarella' of the Borgia fame.  Aqua 
toffana or aquetta di Napoli is another poison associated with the Medicis, 
thought to be arsenic and cantrarides, 4 to 5 drops would kill.  But it had 
to be ingested, so it couldn't be the contact poision in question.  Water 
hemlock, foxglove and prussic acid from the almond tree were other medieval 
options.  

The Cardinal of Lorraine, an old enemy of Catherine de Medici, was killed 
supposedly right after handling some money treated with a poision that 
penetrated his skin pores.  A suggestion of the poision used was nicotine, 
recently discovered and gathered in the New World.  

Another poision of the time was "venin de crapaud".  To make this, toads were 
fed arsenic and then they died, juices were distilled from their bodies.  

Foxglove (digitalis purpurea) is toxic in all it's parts as a heteroside.  
Severe poisoning comes from eating the leaves, either dried or fresh.  It 
doesn't lose toxicity by cooking.

Castor bean (Ricinus communis) can be fatal with even two beans eaten, but 
the have to be well chewed.  The poison is ricin, one of the most toxic 
substances known.  The beans, however, have a hard seed coat that prevents 
rapid absorption, so just swallowing them without chewing probablly wouldn't 
result in a poisoning.  It was grown in Africa and India, so it's unlikely 
that it was handy to an Elizabethian poisoner.

Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) is not native to Britian, altho now it's grown 
in southern England.  The whole plant is toxic, with hyoscyamine, the poison, 
occuring especially in the roots, leaves and seeds.  the plant also contains 
hyoscine and atropine.  The juices and wilted plants are particularly 
poisonous.  Jimsonweed was orignially called "Jamestown Weed", because the 
soldiers sent in 1666 to quell "Bacon's Rebellion" in Jamestown Virginia, ate 
the berries of the plant when food ran short.  Mass poisoning resulted.  
There are several species of Datura and all are poisonous, altho most 
accidental poisonings are caused by the seeds.  So Jimsonweed is outside the 
range for our poisoner.

Here's a list of some posions that I found when I started my research on 
contact poisons.  I can narrow the search when I know the symptoms.  Some of 
these are not period and some are, I haven't weeded (opps..pardon the pun 
there) out those which apply from the list yet.

Poisons that can be effective when just absorbed through the skin:
acid
acrylamide
aldrin
aniline
antimony
benzene
benzene hexachloride
boric acid
camphor
cantharidin
carbon tetrachloride
cationic detergents
cloramine-t
clordane
cobra venom
cyanide  (period, yep)
ddt
dieldrin
dimethyl sulfate
endrin
ethylene clorohydrin
iodine
isoproponol
lead
malathion
mercury
methanol
MONKSHOOD!!!  (yep...I know that's a period one)
nicotine
nitroglycerin
paraquat
phenol
phosgene
phosphorus
procaine
propane
pyrethrum
silver nitrate
sodium azide
tetracholroethane
toxaphene
trinitrtoluene

I'll keep looking.

Melistra
Trimaris
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