ERGOT of rye. Secale. Claviceps purpurea, Tulasne.
Constituents: indole alkaloids, tyramine, acetylcholine.
Action: abortifacient, parturient, haemostatic, hypertensive, uterine stimulant, oxytocic. Uses. Obstetrics.
Difficult childbirth. Applied to excite uterine contractions in the third stage of labour. Preparations. Liquid Extract. BPC 1954, dose, 0.6 to 1.2ml.
Registered medical practitioner only.
A product of CLAVICEPS PURPUREA, a fungus that grows on cereals. Ergot contains poisonous alkaloids, some of which have medicinal properties when taken in controlled doses. The drugs ergotamine and ergometrine are both produced from ergot.
n. a fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that grows on rye. It produces several important alkaloids, chemically related to LSD, including *ergotamine and *ergometrine, which are used in medicine in the treatment of migraine and in childbirth. Eating bread made with rye infected with the fungus has led to sporadic outbreaks of *ergotism over the centuries.
Ergot poisoning, or ergotism, occasionally results from eating bread made from rye infected with the fungus, Claviceps purpurea. Several terrible epidemics (St Anthony’s Fire), characterised by intense pain and hallucinations, occurred in France and Germany during the Middle Ages (see ERYSIPELAS). Its symptoms are the occurrence of spasmodic muscular contractions, and the gradual production of gangrene in parts like the ?ngers, toes and tips of the ears because of constriction of blood vessels and therefore the blood supply.... ergot poisoning
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