nux vomica

nux vomica (nŭks vŏm`əkə), bitter-tasting drug obtained from the poisonous seeds of Strychnos nux-vomica, a tree that grows in Sri Lanka, India, and N Australia. The dried seeds contain strychnine and brucine, both colorless crystalline alkaloids, as well as sugar, acid, and oil. In the past nux vomica was used as a tonic in the form of a tincture, or alcoholic solution, but it is not used in modern medicine. In minute quantities it has a powerful peristaltic action on the intestines and in larger doses causes convulsions and death.

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nux vomica

a medicine manufactured from the seeds of this tree, formerly used as a heart stimulant

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nux vomica

1. an Indian spiny loganiaceous tree, Strychnos nux-vomica, with orange-red berries containing poisonous seeds

2. any of the seeds of this tree, which contain strychnine and other poisonous alkaloids Nyasa, Nyassa

Lake. a lake in central Africa at the S end of the Great Rift Valley: the third largest lake in Africa, drained by the Shire River into the Zambezi. Area: about 28 500 sq. km (11 000 sq. miles)

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nux vomica [′nəks ′väm·ə·kə]

(botany)

The seed ofStrychnos nux-vomica, an Indian tree of the family Loganiaceae; contains the alkaloid strychnine, and was formerly used in medicine.