Totentanz
Lurking Lurker
Just a little info about Oleander, and an extract of which that is being touted as a Covid cure:
"Oleandrin? Yeah that would definitely end up killing people," tweeted David Juurlink, MD, PhD, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.
Juurlink told MedPage Today that oleandrin is "akin to digoxin. Too much can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but the main concern is arrhythmias, which can be fatal."
Jennifer Gunter, MD, tweeted that it's "easier to kill a person with oleandrin than COVID-19" and highlighted a case report in which two people were poisoned after eating snails that had munched on an oleander plant.
What makes oleander -- the word generally covers the Nerium oleander, Nerium indicum, and Nerium odorum plants, and other common names are kaner, rosebay and rose laurel -- so deadly? All parts of it contain cardiac glycosides, the most potent being oleandrin and neriine, both of which are similar to the chief cardiac glycoside of foxglove, digoxin.
According to a 2010 case report and review, oleandrin directly interferes with the sodium-potassium pump of the heart, potentially leading to arrhythmias. Ingestion also causes gastrointestinal effects, and both appear about four hours after ingestion.
Authors of an earlier case report calculated that 4 grams of oleander leaves would be fatal.
Juurlink highlighted a case report in which a patient committed suicide using oleander leaves. That paper estimates toxic blood levels of oleandrin at 1 to 2 ng/ml and a fatal blood level of 9.8 to 10 ng/mL.
In parts of Asia, Oleander is a commonly known agent used in suicides.
Much like the people who drank bleach upon suggestion it would be a Covid cure,
I don't think it will be long before we hear of people munching on those toxic leaves in their garden and obtaining undesirable outcomes.
"Oleandrin? Yeah that would definitely end up killing people," tweeted David Juurlink, MD, PhD, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.
Juurlink told MedPage Today that oleandrin is "akin to digoxin. Too much can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but the main concern is arrhythmias, which can be fatal."
Jennifer Gunter, MD, tweeted that it's "easier to kill a person with oleandrin than COVID-19" and highlighted a case report in which two people were poisoned after eating snails that had munched on an oleander plant.
What makes oleander -- the word generally covers the Nerium oleander, Nerium indicum, and Nerium odorum plants, and other common names are kaner, rosebay and rose laurel -- so deadly? All parts of it contain cardiac glycosides, the most potent being oleandrin and neriine, both of which are similar to the chief cardiac glycoside of foxglove, digoxin.
According to a 2010 case report and review, oleandrin directly interferes with the sodium-potassium pump of the heart, potentially leading to arrhythmias. Ingestion also causes gastrointestinal effects, and both appear about four hours after ingestion.
Authors of an earlier case report calculated that 4 grams of oleander leaves would be fatal.
Juurlink highlighted a case report in which a patient committed suicide using oleander leaves. That paper estimates toxic blood levels of oleandrin at 1 to 2 ng/ml and a fatal blood level of 9.8 to 10 ng/mL.
In parts of Asia, Oleander is a commonly known agent used in suicides.
Much like the people who drank bleach upon suggestion it would be a Covid cure,
I don't think it will be long before we hear of people munching on those toxic leaves in their garden and obtaining undesirable outcomes.
