Dhatura

Datura
DR ZAKIR HOSSAIN
MBBS. DFM (BSMMU)
DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC MEDICINE & TOXICOLOGY
Dhatura
Dhatura also known as “Thron apple” or street/road poison or stink weed.
Stupefying agent:
The agent that produces stupor is called stupefying agent.
The plant commonly grows in waste places all over Bangladesh
 There are two varieties of Datura plant -
1. Dhatura alba- a white flowered plant (safed dhatura)
2. Dhatura niger- a black or purple flowered one (kala dhatura)
 The flowers are bell shaped
 The fruits are spherical and have sharp spikes or thorns, giving the name
thorn apple to the plant
Contd
All parts of the plants are poisonous but the seeds and fruits are most
poisonous
 The active principle of datura are
a) Hyoscine
b) Hyoscyamine
c) Trace of atropine
In dhatura seeds there are a coating of dipolysaccaride which cannot be
digested that’s why crushed seeds is used in case of stupefying the
person.
Contd
They contain brown seeds resembling chill/capsicum seeds. An average
sized fruit contains 450-500 seeds and weight about 2 gm. One
hundred seeds weight about 1 gm.
Difference between dhatura seeds and chilly/capsisum seeds
Characteristics Dhatura seeds Chilly/capsisum seeds
Size Bigger Smaller
Color Brownish Yellowish
Shape Kidney shaped Rounded
Smell Odourless Pungent
Taste Bitter Pungent
On cut section Embryo curved inwards Embryo curved outwards

Contd
Stupefying dose: 40 to 50 crushed seeds

Fatal dose: 100 to 125 crushed seeds
Fatal period: usually 24 hours
Cause of death: due to depression of respiratory Centre.
Contd
Mode of action:
The alkaloids, atropine, hyoscyamine and hyoscine first stimulate
the higher centers of brain, then the motor centers of brain and
finally cause depression and paralysis, especially the vital centers in
the medulla. The respiration is first stimulated, and then depressed
and cardiac centre is stimulated.
Contd
Mode of administration:
The powdered seeds of dhatura are usually mixed with such food as
chapatti, curry, pulses, sweet meats etc and given to the inmates or
pilgrims in a rest house of railway station, steamer and launch ghat,
dharmashala, musafirkhana or any other places by unscrupulous
persons passing as their friends or well-wishers in order to rob them
of their belongingness owing to its insolubility and lightness, it can’t
be given in a drink, as the powder floats and suspicion rises.
Contd
Medico legal aspects of dhatura:
1) Dhatura mainly employed as a stupefying poison mostly for the
purposes of robbery and rarely kidnapping and rape
2) Children can be easily kidnapped by giving candy’s or sweet’s mixed
with dhatura
3) Accidental cases occur among the children by eating the raw fruits.
seeds & leaves are used with tobacco or ganja & smoke in.
4) It is not taken by the suicide.
5) Homicide is very rare.
6) It is believed to have aphrodisiac properties.
7) It is sometimes used as love philter.
Sign-symptoms of dhatura poisoning
According to Morton’ s/s of dhatura are classified as-
1) Dry as a bone
2) Red as a beet
3) Blind as a bat
4) Hot as a hare
5) Mad as a wet hen.
Contd
1. Dry as a bone:
Inhibition of salivation, dryness of mouth and throat, difficulty in talking,
dysphagia, unquenchable thirst, bitter taste in the mouth, Inhibition of
sweating
2. Red as a beet
Dilatation of cutaneous blood vessels, flushing of the face.
3. Blind as a bat
Pupils are dilated, Insensible to light i.e. photophobia, Loss of accommodation
for near vision, Suffering of vision/blurring of vision leads to temporary
blindness.
4. Hot as a hare
Skin is dry and hot due to , Inhibition of sweating, Stimulation of heat regulating
Centre
5. Mad as a wet hen
Patient is restless and confused, Unsteady gait or drunken gait,
Contd
He may be noisy, violent, tries to run away from his bed. (dhatura
poisoning patient→ হাত পা বেঁধে রাখতে হয় hospital এ)
Hallucination (visual and auditory)
He appears to grasp an imaginary objects
He picks at his bed clothes
He tries to pull imaginary threads from the tips of the fingers
He threads imaginary needles,
pill rolling movements of finger.
6. In more advanced condition:
Drowsiness, Stupor, Coma ,Death due to respiratory failure
Ludicrous movement
Patient of Datura poisoning having peculiar movement is called
ludicrous movement. Features are
He may be noisy, violent, tries to run away from his bed. (dhatura
poisoning patient→ হাত পা বেঁধে রাখতে হয় hospital এ)
Hallucination (visual and auditory)
He appears to grasp an imaginary objects
He picks at his bed clothes
He tries to pull imaginary threads from the tips of the fingers
He threads imaginary needles,
Pill rolling movements of finger.
Mydriatic test
In a suspected case of datura poisoning, a drop of solution to be tested

is put into the eyes of cat. dilatation of pupils within 30 min confirms
the presence of atropine.
Treatment
1. Emetics can be used
2. Stomach wash with either KMNO4 solution or 5% tannic acid
3. Physostigmine 0.5 mg I/V or I/M at hourly intervals. In many cases a
single dose is sufficient
4. Pilocarpin 5 mg subcutaneously. It does not counteract the action of
dhatura on brain. It can be repeated after 2 hours
5. Short acting barbiturates or bromides ---- to control delirium. Ether
or chloroform is more sufficient
6. A large warm enema is useful to wash out the lower bowel
7. Liquid diet and free purgation should be carried on to remove the
seeds
8. Symptomatic treatment
Post mortem findings
A. External: signs of asphyxia are found. Lividity and well developed
post mortem staining are found. Pupils are widely dilated
B. Internal: mucous membrane of oesophagus, stomach, duodenum
and internal organs are congested. Punctiform hemorrhage may be
found in the stomach. Dhatura seeds resist putrefaction and are
found even when the body is decomposed
Identification:
Medium sized clear glass bottle with stopper containing spherical fruit
having multiple spikes on the surface and multiple seeds. It is the
specimen of dhatura fruits and dhatura seeds
Medico legally it is stupefying poison .

Dhatura

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Datura

Size Bigger Smaller

Color Brownish Yellowish

Shape Kidney shaped Rounded

Smell Odourless Pungent

Taste Bitter Pungent

On cut section Embryo curved inwards Embryo curved outwards

Stupefying dose: 40 to 50 crushed seeds

In a suspected case of datura poisoning, a drop of solution to be tested

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