A presentation by:Gabriel GarciaCaillie LawrieJennifer Vanderhoof

Scopolamine "Colombian Devil's Breath"

• First found in modern times in the woody plant Brugmansia, which was discovered by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in South America.

• In 1819 Meissner discovered that the activeingredients of these poisonous plants arealkaline and could be isolated by extraction techniques.

• Scopolamine has been used by many South American indigenous cultures in medical,and ritualistic practices for centuries.

History and Background

• Brugmansia is a small tree with long horn shaped flowers and small round seed pods.

• All parts of the Brugmansia are poisonous, especally the seeds and leaves.

• It's related to Datura, commonly call Angel's Trumpet or Moonflowers, which can be found throughout the United States and Mexico.

Plant Information

• Scopolamine is a secondary metabolite from the plant Brugmansia.

• Scopolamine is a type of tropane alkaloid. These alkaloids are what give scopolamine its toxic effect.

• Ingestion can cause an array of symptoms such as confusion, visual and auditory hallucinations, smooth muscle paralysis, and death.

• Common names include Scopolamine, scopa, Colombian devil's breath, levo-duboisine,

Plant Information

• Christina Pratt, the author of AnEncyclopedia of Shamanism said,"These hallucinations are often characterized by complete loss of awareness that one is hallucinating, disconnection from reality, and amnesia of the episode.”

• As stated before, these symptoms resulted from drinking a cup of tea made from Brugmansia.

Plant Information

Biosynthesis of Scopolomine• Synthesis of scopolamine in Brugmansia begins with

the amino acid ornthithine.

• The mechanism of synthesis is not fullyunderstood.

• Evolutionary theory for the synthesisof such a toxin include evolving a lineof defense on behalf of the plant against larvae and herbivores.

Mechanism:

Biosynthesis of Scopolomine

• In the past 100 years, it was used to treat addiction to drugs like heroin and cocaine.

• 2006 studies showed that Scopolamine reduced the symptoms of depression and its effects lasted for several days after use.

• It's commonly used by fishermen and scubadivers for its effectiveness against motionsickness. Chemotherapy patients also use it to deal with nausea associated with their chemptherapy

Medical Uses

• Scopolamine was mixed with morphine to produce and effect called "twilight sleep." It was given to women in labor to reduce pain but maintain consciousness.

• It has been tested as a topical treatment for various skin diseases, such asAquagenic pruritus.

Medical Uses

• Scopolamine was used by early South American tribes for religious ceremonies as well as a tool for communication with their ancestors.

• In some South American cultures it wasgiven to wives and slaves before theywere buried alive with their dead lords.

• During the Medieval Times, it was used asa poison in sorcery and black magic. In addion, magicians used it for prophecy.

Recreational Uses

• In medical settings, Scopolamine is administered orally, subcutaneously, opthalmically, intravenously, or by a transdermal patch.

• When used for criminal purposes, it is typically used in a powdered form and is accidentally inhaled by an unsuspecting victim.

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Administration

• Scopolamine has great effects on the Central Nervous system due to its ability to cross the blood brain barrier.

• Scopolomine has muscarinic antagonist effects: it reduces the activity of a neurotransmitter called the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. This neurotransmitter has a large effect on the parasympathetic nervous system.

Site of Action

• Dorsal hippocampus

• Intra-medial septum (MS)

site of NMDA receptor amnesia can be induced when hippocampus

is exposed to scopolomine

responsible for inducing amnesiawhen scopolomine is directly injected

Possible sites for the mechanism of memory impairment:

Site of Action

• NMDA receptor (a glutamate receptor) the NMDA receptor can increase

memory when stimulated

Scopolomine is a competitiveNMDA receptor antagonist

Possible sites for the mechanism of memory impairment

Site of Action

Targeted Receptors

Criminal Use

• During the 1950's, the U.S. Military tested scopolamine as a "truth serum" in project MKULTRA for interrogative purposes.

• Recently in criminal use, it has been usedas a date-rape drug because it causes retrograde amnesia.

• There have been many reports of the drugused to induce a “zombie” state of mindin which involuntarily submit to any authority.

Criminal Use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVth1OGEcM8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=8rx1fhdtj8g

For additional information on the criminal use of scopolamine, feel free to view the two-part documentary linked below (copy and past the link).• Although these cases have not been officially reported, it is nevertheless

intriguing to know that such happenstances occur and that there may be some truth behind the stories

Citations:

• Bellows, A. (2005, December 22). The truth about truth serum. Retrieved from http://www.damninteresting.com/the-truth-about-truth-serum/

• Duffy, R. (2008, July 23). Colombian devil's breath part 1 & 2. Retrieved from http://www.vice.com/vice-news/colombian-devil-s-breath-1-of-2

• Multum, C. (2010, December 15). Scopolamine. Retrieved from http://www.drugs.com/mtm/scopolamine.html

Citations:

• Fatemeh Khakpai, Mohammad Nasehi, Ali Haeri-Rohani, Akram Eidi, Mohammad Reza Zarrindast (2012 May 16). Scopolamine induced memory impairment; possible involvement of NMDA receptor mechanisms of dorsal hippocampus and/or septum. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432812001787

• Pratt, C. (2007). An encyclopedia of shamanism. (1 ed., Vol. 1-2). New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

• http://flipper.diff.org/app/items/info/4260