noun
- Plural of aconitine; toxic alkaloid compounds found in aconite plants, used historically in medicine and poisons.
Usage: chemistry; toxicology; technical
Examples
- Aconitines are highly poisonous alkaloids extracted from monkshood and wolfsbane plants.
- The researcher studied how aconitines affect the nervous system in laboratory experiments.
- Medieval physicians sometimes used minute doses of aconitines in treatments, unaware of their extreme toxicity.
- Aconitines bind to sodium channels in nerve cells, causing paralysis and cardiac arrhythmias.
- The concentration of aconitines varies significantly among different aconite species.