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<big>''[[Anamirta cocculus]]'' (L.) Wight & Arn.</big>
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:Protologue: Prodr. fl. Ind. orient. 1: 446 (1834).
== Synonyms ==
*''Menispermum cocculus'' L. (1753), *''Menispermum lacunosum'' Lamk (1797), *''Cocculus populifolius'' DC. (1817), *''Anamirta paniculata'' Colebr. (1822).
== Vernacular names ==
''A. cocculus'' is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Anamirta'' . It occurs naturally from India, Sri Lanka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Indo-China, through Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccas, to the Philippines and New Guinea.
== Uses ==
The seed, when taken internally, is a powerful poison for all vertebrates affecting the central nervous system, stimulating the motor and inhibitory centres in the medulla, especially the respiratory and vagus centres, acting on the heart and respiration. It also irritates motor centres, either in the cerebrum or in the medulla and cord, producing in all vertebrates alternating epileptiform spasms, with periodic stoppage of the motions of the diaphragm and slowness of the pulse. The poisoning causes vomiting, purging, profuse sweating and intoxication, with extreme giddiness, dimness of vision and unconsciousness. Breathing and the pulse become weak. The poisoning also results in clonic convulsions; during spasms and intervals of relaxations the pupils correspondingly contract or dilate. Death occurs rapidly from respiration failure, or slowly from gastro-intestinal symptoms.
On a biochemical level, picrotoxin (or more precisely its active constituent, picrotoxinin) act as GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid) antagonists. It stimulates the central nervous system, particularly the medulla oblongata and respiratory centre. Administration of picrotoxin via the vertebral artery decreased sinus rate and increased circulating levels of vasopressin. On the other hand, infusion of picrotoxin into the internal carotid artery caused increases in sinus rate, blood pressure and plasma vasopressin. These data support the hypothesis that GABAergic mechanisms at different levels of the neuraxis exert opposite effects on cardiac vagal activity, and that GABAergic mechanisms in both the brainstem and forebrain inhibit the release of vasopressins into the systemic circulation.
== Adulterations and substitutes ==
Picrotoxin is also isolated from ''Tinomiscium petiolare'' Hook.f. & Thomson ( ''Menispermaceae'' ). Several of the alkaloids recorded for ''A. cocculus'' occur in other ''Menispermaceae'' , e.g. berberine and palmitine in ''Arcangelisia'' spp., berberine, palmitine and magnoflorine in ''Tinospora'' spp., and magnoflorine in ''Cyclea'' spp.
== Description ==
*A large, dioecious liana, up to 15 m long; stem twisting to the left, up to 10 cm in diameter, with stout, smooth branches, young stems and petioles pale straw-coloured when drying, striate, wood white or yellowish, exuding white milky sap when cut. *Leaves alternate, simple, ovate to broadly ovate, 16-18 cm × 10-24 cm, base cordate to truncate, apex shortly acuminate, margin entire, palmately 3-5(-7)-veined at base with 4-5 pairs of lateral veins running parallel with the main pair of basal veins, lower surface with reticulum clearly visible and slightly raised, midrib very prominent, glabrous on both surfaces apart from hairy patches (domatia) in the axils of the secondary and main veins, thinly coriaceous; petiole 6-8(-26) cm long, glabrous, swollen at both ends, geniculate at base; stipules absent. *Inflorescence a panicle, cauliflorous, spreading or pendulous, 16-40 cm long with lateral branches 2-5 cm long, glabrous, bracteoles about 0.5 mm long. *Flowers shortly pedicellate, unisexual, petals absent, strongly fragrant; male flowers with glabrous pedicels up to 2-3 mm long, sepals white, yellow or pale green, outer sepals 2, scarcely 1 mm long, inner sepals 6, broadly elliptical, 2.5-3 mm × 2 mm, glabrous apart from often minutely papillose margin, stamens 30-35, filaments more or less connate, anthers in a stalked cluster; female flowers with pedicels and sepals as in male flower, staminodes 6, carpels 3(-4), curved-ellipsoid, 1.5-2 mm long, stigma thick, recurved. Infructescence with lateral branches up to 15 cm long, gynophore (3-)6-16 mm long, shortly branched below the drupes, continuous with pedicel, 8-20 mm long. *Fruit a drupe, nearly spherical, 9-11 mm long, white turning red, finally dark purple, glabrous, smooth and hard when dry. *Seed deeply cup-shaped, with endosperm; embryo with foliaceous, divaricate cotyledons.
== Growth and development ==
In view of its large geographical distribution and its occurrence in a wide range of habitats it is unlikely that ''A. cocculus'' is seriously threatened by genetic erosion. Despite its longstanding use no reports of cultivation, let alone breeding efforts have been recorded.
== Prospects ==
== Literature ==
* Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1985. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. Revised Edition. Vol. 1. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India. pp. 249-250.
* Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. p. 264.
* Quisumbing, E., 1951. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Technical Bulletin 16. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Manila, the Philippines. pp. 290-292.
* Verpoorte, R., Siwon, J., Tieken, M.E.M. & Svendsen, A.B., 1981. Studies on Indonesian medicinal plants. V. The alkaloids of Anamirta cocculus. Journal of Natural Products 44(2): 221-224.│ '''6''' │Wible *Wible Jr, J.H., & DiMicco, J.A., 1990. Resolution of central sites involved in picrotoxin-induced vagal activation and vasopressin release. European Journal of Pharmacology 181(3): 215-224.
== Other selected sources ==
* [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A-HA—H) pp. 1-12401—1240, Vol. 2 (I-ZI—Z) pp. 1241-24441241—2444. *[407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.*[486] Jayasinghe, U.L.B., Wannigama, G.P., Balasubramaniam, S., Habib-Nasir & Atta-Ur-Rahman, 1992. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids from Anamirta cocculus and Diploclisia glaucescens. Journal of the Natural Science Council of Sri Lanka 20(2): 187—190.*[739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.*[861] Samuelsson, G. (Editor), 1992. Drugs of natural origin, a textbook of pharmacognosy. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press, Stockholm, Sweden. 320 pp.*[944] Siwon, J., 1982. A pharmacognostical study of some Indonesian plants of the family Menispermaceae. Thesis. Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands. 108 pp.
== Authors ==