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After its introduction in 1942, curare/curare-derivatives became a widely used paralyzing agent during medical and surgical procedures. [citation needed] In medicine, curare has been superseded by a number of curare-like agents, such as pancuronium, which have a similar pharmacodynamic profile, but fewer side effects.
Pot curare was generally a mixture of extracts from various genera in the families Menispermaceae and Strychnaceae. The tripartite classification into "tube", "calabash", and "pot" curares early became untenable, due to inconsistencies in the use of the different types of vessels and the complexities of the dart poison recipes themselves. [4]
While curare, the naturally occurring antinicotinics derived from Chondrodendron and Strychnos, was a poison used by South American Indians for hunting. [ 1 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] According to their site of actions, cholinergic blocking drugs can be classified into two general types — antimuscarinic and antinicotinic agents. [ 1 ]
The prototypical depolarizing blocking drug is succinylcholine (suxamethonium). It is the only such drug used clinically. It has a rapid onset (30 seconds) but very short duration of action (5–10 minutes) because of hydrolysis by various cholinesterases (such as butyrylcholinesterase in the blood).
The first drug used for this purpose was curare, introduced in the 1940s, which has now been superseded by drugs with fewer side effects and, generally, shorter duration of action. [42] Muscle relaxation allows surgery within major body cavities , such as the abdomen and thorax , without the need for very deep anaesthesia, and also facilitates ...
The Menispermaceae have been used in traditional pharmacopeia and drugs have been formulated from these plants that are of great use in modern medicine. These drugs are based on alkaloids and include tubocurarine from curare , a poison used by indigenous South American tribes on their poison darts, that is obtained from species of Curarea ...
A nicotinic antagonist is a type of anticholinergic drug that inhibits the action of acetylcholine (ACh) at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.These compounds are mainly used for peripheral muscle paralysis in surgery, the classical agent of this type being tubocurarine, [1] but some centrally acting compounds such as bupropion, mecamylamine, and 18-methoxycoronaridine block nicotinic ...
Numerous ancient herbal remedies and poisons now serve as models for modern medicine. For example, curare, which was an ancient South American arrow poison, was used in the 20th century as the muscle relaxant tubocurarine. [2]