ໝາກຕຸມກາ / Strychnine
APA 6th ed. ໝາກຕຸມກາ / Strychnine. (2019, April 3). Retrieved from https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000189
MLA 8th ed. ໝາກຕຸມກາ / Strychnine. Pha Khao Lao, 3 April 2019, https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000189.
Chicago 17th ed. Pha Khao Lao. 2019. "ໝາກຕຸມກາ / Strychnine." Published April 3, 2019. https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000189.
Strychnos nux-vomica var. oligosperma Dop
Strychnos spireana Dop
Strychnos vomica St.-Lag.
Cambodian: slaeng touch, slaeng thom
Vietnamese: co chi, cu chi, ma tien
Chinese: ma qian zi
English: strychnine, snake woo
Seng beua is a deciduous tree 5-25 m tall with a spreading crown and a DBH of 15 cm. The grey bark has thin horizontal rings and is slightly flaky. The twigs are yellow-grey, sometimes with spines. Leaves have stalks of 5 -11 mm and broadly egg-shaped blades, 4-10.5 x 3-8.6 cm, thin, papery and shiny on the top. The inflorescence-stalks are light-brown and hairy, 2.5-5.5 cm, with many yellow-greenish flowers sized 8-13 mm. The bright yellow-green fruit turns reddish when ripe, and is hard with a thick skin. It is 2.5-4 cm in diameter and white inside, with one to four seeds, each 2.1-2.2 cm. These seeds look like flattened discs, about 6 mm thick, and are densely covered with hairs which give them a shiny appearance. The seeds are very hard and consist of a large, dark grey endosperm. They have no odour but a very bitter taste. This species is easily confused with Strychnos nux-blanda, which has larger fruit measuring 5-8 cm.
Seng beua seeds are the main commercial source of strychnine and brucine, used for poison or medicine. The nuts are processed into a poison used as a bitter flavouring for medicinal purposes, and as a raw material for the production of muscle relaxants or drugs to treat rheumatism, joint aches and paralysis. Extract of nux vomica is very often used in combination with other plant extracts in pills. Juice from the fresh bark is used against cholera and dysentery. A poultice made of the leaves treats chronic ulcers, while seeds can be boiled in milk and pounded into a paste to detoxify opium addicts. The seeds can apparently be eaten when immature, but this is not recommended as an overdose can result in death.