| الوصف: |
In the folk medicine of several cultures, mushrooms have been used in religious and magical ceremonies. One of these mushrooms is the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria (Wasson, 1973). The first scientific studies of this mushroom were made by Schmiedeberg and Koppe (1869), who showed that extracts of the mushroom could slow, and at higher concentrations arrest, the beat of the frog heart. Using this action as a guide, they purified the extract using the standard alkaloid purification methods then available and obtained a crystalline aurichloride salt. Since no microanalytic data were provided by them, it is unclear whether or not this was a pure compound of the alkaloid, which they named muscarine, but later evidence suggests that it was no more than 25% pure (Eugster, 1960). It was a reliable preparation that they then used for an extensive study of its pharmacology. They showed that, in addition to its action on the heart, it contracted the smooth muscle of the stomach and intestine, stimulated the secretion of tears, saliva and mucus, constricted the pupil, caused accommodation of the lens, and also produced dyspnea. Applied to the brain and spinal cord, it produced flaccidity and weakened peripheral reflexes. |
