| Popis: |
Long before the cholinergic neuronal system was identified and characterized, toxins affecting this system were available and in common use. Extracts from belladonna plants have been used for cosmetic purposes for many centuries and have been applied as a well-known poison. Curare has been skilfully employed for centuries by the Indians as an arrow poison for paralyzing animals during the hunt, prior to killing them. The betel nut, containing arecoline, has been consumed as a euphoretic by the natives of East India. Chewing of leaves of Pilocarpus plants has long been known to cause salivation, and physostigmine was used as a therapeutic agent even in 1877 by Laqueur in the treatment of glaucoma (Gilman et al. 1985). |
