Gelsemium elegans explained

Gelsemium elegans, commonly known as heartbreak grass, is a poisonous plant of the family Gelsemiaceae found in China and other Asian countries. It contains toxic alkaloids such as gelsemine, gelsenicine, gelsevirine, koumine and 14-Hydroxygelsenicine.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Crumbled leaves of this plant, surreptitiously added to food, were used in the 23rd of December 2011 poisoning of Long Liyuan, a magnate of the Chinese timber industry, and perhaps in the 10th of November 2012 poisoning of Alexander Perepilichny, a Russian financier cooperating with a fraud investigation in London,^[4] though the role of the plant in his death has been disputed.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Medicinal plants of the genus Gelsemium (Gelsemiaceae, Gentianales)—A review of their phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and traditional use . Journal of Ethnopharmacology . 152 . 1 . 33–52 . 10.1016/j.jep.2014.01.003 . 24434844 . 2014 . Jin . G. L . Su . Y. P . Liu . M . Xu . Y . Yang . J . Liao . K. J . Yu . C. X.
2. Pharmacological effect and toxicity of alkaloids from Gelsemium elegans Benth . Journal of Ethnopharmacology . 89 . 1 . 91–95 . 10.1016/s0378-8741(03)00267-8 . 14522437 . 2003 . Rujjanawate . C . Kanjanapothi . D . Panthong . A.
3. Qu D, Qiao DF, Chen XC, Feng CQ, Luo QZ, Tan XH . Fatal poisoning by accidental ingestion of the "heartbreak grass" (Gelsemium elegans) verified by toxicological and medico-legal analyses . Forensic Science International . 321 . 110745 . April 2021 . 33676237 . 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110745 . Elsevier . 232136096 .
4. Web site: What if the Powerful (and Paranoid) Started Using Official Tasters Again? . New York Times Style Magazine . Ligaya Mishan . 2018-10-31.
5. News: 19 May 2015 . Alexander Perepilichny: Rare Chinese poison found in stomach of Russian whistleblower . . . 9 March 2018.
6. News: Was Russian whistleblower murdered in UK with poisoned soup? . https://web.archive.org/web/20170313180533/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-perepilichny-idUKKBN16K26E . dead . 13 March 2017 . Michael . Holden . 13 March 2017 . reuters.com . 9 March 2018.