Spotted hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a plant known primarily for its toxicity. It goes far beyond the toxic substances of other plants. How poisonous this plant is, shows that in ancient times convicts were executed with a poison cocktail of Conium. The most famous victim is the world-famous philosopher Socrates.
Occurrence and cultivation of the spotted hemlock.
Spotted hemlock has many related plants such as caraway or meadow chervil, but they are much more harmless because they are not poisonous. This poisonous plant is an umbellifer (Apiaceae) with white flowers that make it very handsome. Spotted hemlock has many related plants such as caraway or meadow chervil, but they are much more harmless because they are not poisonous. This similarity to other non-toxic plants is what makes spotted hemlock so dangerous, as confusion cannot be ruled out. The scientific name is (Conium maculatum). Along with Aethusa cynapium (dog hemlock) and Cicuta virosa (water hemlock), this herbaceous biennial is one of the most poisonous plant species. The spindle-shaped umbellifer growing in height reaches an average growth height of 80 centimeters, under good growing conditions it can also reach two meters. The name affix “spotted” is due to the hollow and round stem, which has red spots in the lower part and is covered with a blue hoop. The stems are ribbed and glabrous like the triangular, two- to four-pinnate stem leaves. They have fiddly incisions. The inflorescence grows umbel-like and records six to twenty single, radiating umbel flowers with bracts and white corollas. The ovoid fruit grows to 2 to 3.5 millimeters in size. The range is wide, as spotted hemlock is found in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In North and South America, it is a neophyte that has been introduced and naturalized by humans. The poisonous plant prefers nutrient-rich and deep loamy soils and is found on fallow land, rubble areas, in field margins, beet fields, and roadsides. It is also known by the trivial names devil’s perterling, mouse hemlock, blood hemlock, ragwort, and ravager.
Effect and application
In the vernacular, the herbaceous plant is also known as the Spotted Death. The alkaloids methylconiine, pseudoconhydrin, conicein, conhydrin and coniine act as ingredients. In medicine, the umbellifer is no longer used because of its lethal effect. It may only be used in the form of homeopathic medicines and prescribed finished preparations. Homeopathy uses spotted hemlock under its scientific name Conium maculatum with a potentiation of D2 to D30. The treatment principle of homeopathy is to treat like with like. The particular medicine is used as an antidote or “antitoxin,” so to speak. Because spotted hemlock has cramping, nerve poisoning, paralyzing, diaphoretic, swelling, draining and inflammatory effects, it is used specifically against the diseases that are symptomatically accompanied by these complaints. The drug is effective against muscle weakness, breast lumps, lymph node swelling, swollen breasts, mastopathy, fibroid, photosensitivity, prostate swelling, prostate discomfort, menopausal symptoms, vascular calcification, night sweats, sweating and memory impairment. Patients in whom the administration of Conium maculatum is indicated are often sad, listless, listless and weak. They suffer from severe digestive problems, skin problems, inflamed glands, physical weakness, positional vertigo and headaches. They eat mainly sour and salty foods, drink a lot of coffee and cannot tolerate dairy products. They often cannot keep food down. Typical of Conium patients are light-sensitive eyes afflicted by flashes of black light. Common male complaints include various prostate problems and enlarged and hardened testicles. Women suffer more from menopause, accompanied by swollen breasts with small nodules. They tend to have ovarian problems and fibroids. Night sweats and irritable cough may occur. Depending on the symptoms, patients use Conium orally in tablet form or externally as an ointment. The dosage depends on the potency.With a strong potentization of D30 already one tablet daily is sufficient. A D12 or even lower potentization requires taking several times a day to develop the desired effect. For D12, two tablets daily are sufficient. With a weak potentization of D2, an administration of five tablets daily is indicated. Since the starting material is a poisonous plant whose mode of action has been neutralized by the potentization, it is nevertheless advisable to consult a homeopath or doctor before taking it. Homeopathic medicines derived from poisonous plants are safe in this respect. Nevertheless, a patient should not take these remedies on his or her own responsibility without specialist knowledge, as they may have no effect if used incorrectly or may have a negative effect on medicines taken in parallel. Hypersensitivity to one or more of the ingredients is also possible. An overdose can lead to nausea, vomiting or dizziness. However, to achieve this undesirable side effect, it is necessary to take a large amount of tablets. So far, no such cases have been reported. The ointment (Conium 5 percent) can be applied to the affected areas several times a day as needed.
Health significance, treatment and prevention.
Spotted hemlock is one of the most poisonous plant species of all. Responsible for the poisonous effect is the alkaloid coniin. 0.5 to 1 grams are lethal for adult humans. The other constituents also have a toxic effect. They are mainly concentrated in the not yet ripe fruits. These ingredients act as a neurotoxin, which first manifests itself in speech and swallowing disorders, nausea and muscle spasms. In the next step, improper use of the plant ingredients leads to respiratory paralysis and, in the final step, death. The poisoned person does not lose consciousness until the end, thus consciously experiences his death. A clear distinguishing feature from the non-toxic plants meadow chervil, parsley and yarrow are the red spots, the frosted shoots and the divided leaves. Spotted hemlock is also notable for its distinct smell of mouse urine.
