Curare is most popularly known is the poison in arrows used by native South Americans. It causes muscle paralysis, which eventually kills the unfortunate victim. Today, modern medicine harnesses curare's muscle paralyzing powers for good use.

History

South American Indians were the first to use curare as poison in arrows. It can kill large mammals in about 20 minutes.

Description

According to Raintree Nutrition's Tropical Plant Database, curare is a woody vine, sometimes 4 inches thick at its base, and climbs a considerable height up into the canopy (up to 30 meters high). It has both male and female flowers which are small, greenish-white, and grow in clusters. It produces an edible, bitter-sweet fruit.

Geography

Curare is a South American vine native to the Amazon Basin. It is found growing in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guiana, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia.

How It Works

The active ingredient in curare, D-tubocurarine, is not a true toxin. It is a powerful muscle relaxant that causes the muscles, including the diaphragm and lungs to relax, resulting in asphyxiation. The poison works only when it gets in the blood stream. Eating poisoned animals have no harmful effects on humans. The vapors are not poisonous, either, according to a UCLA Department of Botany article.

Uses

Curare, in controlled doses, is used as an anesthetic and muscle relaxant in some surgeries. According to Encyclopedia.com, curare is also used to relieve spastic paralysis, to treat some mental disorders, and to induce muscle relaxation for the setting of fractures.

Source:

UCLA.edu: Curare, a South American Arrow Poison

Blue Planet Biomes: Curare

Encyclopedia.Com: Curare