CROTON OIL
The oil expressed from the seeds of Croton tiglium (N.O. Euphorbiaceæ).
The seeds, when taken, produce violent pains in the stomach and purging. Pereira has described the case of a man who suffered severely from inhaling the dust of the seeds. The dose of the oil is from half a minim to a minim. Dr. Trail mentions the case of a delicate lady patient who took three drops for a dose without inconvenience. Dr. Adam records a case (Edinburgh Medical Journal, 1856) of a man who, in mistake, drank three drachms of a liniment containing about fifty drops of croton oil. After the most alarming symptoms, the patient ultimately recovered. Two drachms and a half have caused death (Journal de Clinic Médicale, 1839, p. 509). The poisonous properties depend upon the presence of a fatty acid.
A medical friend informed Husband that in Shetland six drops in as many colocynth pills have, in cases there, only produced “a comfortable ‘aisement’ of the bowels.” This is attributed to the dura ilia, resulting from a constant fish diet.
Symptoms.—Pain in the abdomen, vomiting, and purging, followed by exhaustion and collapse. In some cases, when the dose is large, the pain is hot and burning, and may be felt from the mouth downward.
Chemical Analysis.—Separate the oil from the contents of the stomach by means of ether, and then drive off the ether by means of heat. The oil then warmed with nitric acid becomes of a brown colour, and nitrous acid vapours are given off.