ergot

ergot /er·got/ (er´got) the dried sclerotium of the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which is developed on rye plants; ergot alkaloids are used as oxytocics and in treatment of migraine. See also ergotism.

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er·got (ûrgt, -gt)

n.

1. A fungus that infects various cereal plants and forms compact black masses of branching filaments that replace many of the grains of the host plant.

2. The dried sclerotia of ergot, usually obtained from rye seed and used as a source of several medicinally important alkaloids and as the basic source of lysergic acid.

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ergot

[ur′gət]

Etymology: L, ergota, a grain fungus

a fungus structure that replaces the seed of rye and other cereal grasses infested with the parasitic fungus Claviceps purpurea. Ergot contains ergot alkaloids, the agents responsible for what was known as St. Anthony's fire in people who consumed the contaminated grain in the Middle Ages. Effects included hallucinations and such intense vasoconstriction in the extremities that portions of the limbs often developed gangrene and fell off before the person died.

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ergot (urˑ·gt),

n Latin name:
Claviceps purpurea; part used: sclerotium; uses: muscle stimulant, induce uterine contraction, stop uterine hemorrhage, relaxant, relieve
delirium tremens, spinal congestion, asthma, hysteria, relieve menstrual disorders, galactogogic, night sweats of phthisis; precautions: pulmonary hemorrhage; cerebral hemorrhage; can elevate blood pressure; can cause gangrene. Also called
argot.