THE YELLOW JASMINE

A PRETTY POISON

By Ashleigh Jones

WHAT IS A YELLOW JASMINE AND WHAT DO THEY LOOK

LIKE?

Yellow Jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) are yellow trumpet shaped flowers that sometimes have an orange center which grow from a vine and its leaves are evergreen. These flowers are strongly scented and attracts a large range of pollinators.

CASE STUDY

On June 28th 1871 General Ketchum was found dead in his boarding house. Police suspected the land lady Elizabeth G. Warton had poisoned him. The case was brought to professor Wormly who once wrote an article on the Yellow Jasmine. Upon examining the flower he was able to isolate an alkaloid gelsemia that existed on an acid termed by him to be gelseminic acid. Sadly the case against Mrs. Warton didn’t hold and she was found not guilty.

TOXINS AND WHAT THEY EFFECT

Coumarin- moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys(used in rat poison)

Tannin- causes bowl and kidney irritation, liver damage, irritation of the stomach, and gastrointestinal pain

Gelsemine and Gelsedine- paralyzes the central nervous system (other effects are similar to strychnine)

Difficulty in use of voluntary muscles

Muscle rigidity and weakness

Dizziness

Loss of speech

Dry mouth

Visual disturbances

Drooping of the eyelids and jaw

Pulse rate and core body temperature drop dramatically

Skin irritation (in certen people)

SYMPTOMS OF POISONING

Trembling of extremities

Pupil dilation

Slowed cardiac activity

Profuse sweating

Respiratory depressions

Convulsions

Feeble respiration (overdose)

Paralysis (overdose)

Death

FUN FACTS

It has been reported that this flower is even toxic to honeybees when they drink the nectar and causes ‘death broods’ when gathered by the bees.

Some children have mistaken the flower for honeysuckle and have been poisoned by sucking the nectar from the flower and since it only takes 2-3 g to kill an adult it wont take much to kill a small child in fact it takes only one flower to kill a child

These plants have once been used for medical purposes but the use if them has decreased once they realized how poisonous the plant was. The plant is restricted in some Australian states and in Germany the use of the yellow jasmine for therapeutic purposes is not permitted.

Death may occur within one to seven and a half hours from ingestion.

SITES

http://web.fccj.org/~dbyres/jasmine/jasmine2.htm

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_yellow_jessamine.htm

http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/348-yellow-jessamine

http://www.naturalpedia.com/Yellow_jasmine.html