Medical Jurisprudence And Toxicology

NERIUM ODORUM

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by Hindu worshippers. It has lanceolate leaves and has a two follicled fruit
which contains numerous seeds.

All parts of the plant are poisonous. S. R. Naidu and his co-workers 21
have isolated from the plant an active principle, nerin, (Ca5H3oO10), which
is a pure, white, crystalline glycoside. It is sparingly soluble in water, ether,
petroleum ether and benzene, but dissolves readily in alcohol, acetone and

Fig. 195.—Nerium Odorum.

chloroform, and melts at 123°C, It is highly poisonous, and when injected
into the dprsal lymph sac of a frog, it produces paralysis and death. The
average minimum fatal dose for a frog weighing about 10 grammes is one-
fiftieth of a milligramme. Eight milligrammes injected into the abdomen of

21. Madras Chem. Examiner's Annual Rep., 1937, p. 8; Jottr. and Proceedings of
Institution oj Chemists (India), Vol. XV, Dec. 1943, pp. 134-144.