Aconitine

Aconitine - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aconitine is a highly poisonous alkaloid derived from the aconite plant. It is a neurotoxin that opens TTX-sensitive Na⁺ channels in the heart and other tissues, and is used for creating models of cardiac arrhythmia.

Aconitine has the chemical formula C₃₄H₄₇NO₁₁, and is soluble in chloroform or benzene, slightly in alcohol or ether, and practically not at all in water. It has an LD₅₀ in mice (intravenously) of 0.12 mg/kg and in rats (orally) of 5.97 mg/kg.

Probably made most famous by its use in Oscar Wilde's story "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" (1891).

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