Calabar bean
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phy·so·stig·ma
(fī'sō-stig'mă),The dried seed of Physostigma venenosum (family Leguminosae), a vine of western Africa; it contains the alkaloids physostigmine (eserine), eseramine, eseridine (geneserine) and physovenine; at toxic doses, it causes vomiting, colic, salivation, diarrhea, convulsions, sweating, dyspnea, vertigo, slow pulse, and extreme prostration.
Synonym(s): Calabar bean, ordeal bean
[G. physa, bellows, + stigma, a mark, spot; so called because of the shape of the stigma]
Calabar bean
(kăl′ə-bär)n.
The poisonous seed of a tropical western African woody vine (Physostigma venenosum) in the pea family, the source of physostigmine.
Calabar bean
Herbal medicineA climbing vine native to Africa that contains physostimine, which causes death by inducing muscle contractions to the point of rigidity.
Effects
Pupillary constriction, stimulates smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, causing brachycardia and hypertension; synthetic derivatives (e.g., neostigmine) are used for myasthenia gravis, and in ophthalmology to prevent glaucoma.