- picrotoxin
- A very bitter neutral principle derived from the fruit of Anamirta cocculus (family Menispermaceae); a central nervous system stimulant, used as an antidote for poisoning by barbiturates and certain other CNS-depressant drugs; a convulsant and GABA antagonist used extensively in experimental procedures studying seizure mechanisms. SYN: cocculin. [G. pikros, bitter, + toxicon, poison]
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pic·ro·tox·in .pik-rō-'täk-sən n a poisonous bitter crystalline principle C30H34O13 found esp. in cocculus that is a compound of picrotoxinin and picrotin and is a stimulant and convulsant drug administered intravenously as an antidote for poisoning by overdoses of barbiturates* * *
pic·ro·tox·in (pikґro-tok″sin) an active principle obtained from the seed (cocculus indicus) of Anamirta cocculus; it stimulates all portions of the central nervous system by blocking presynaptic inhibition of neural impulses and can cause convulsions. It has been used medicinally as an antidote in the treatment of poisoning by central nervous system depressant drugs, especially the barbiturates, administered intravenously.
Medical dictionary. 2011.