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Medicinal Uses of Conium
Debate and Controversy

The proper dosage given to patients is controversial. The amount prescribed must be high enough to result in a noticeable difference in the health issue yet low enough to not be considered toxic. The correct dose varies from person to person, which makes it difficult for doctors to prescribe. There have been examples where high doses led to patient death. As a result, physicians are more likely to prescribe well known drugs on the market with more predictable results.

Using Conium to treat medical issues by repeatedly placing the plant into a solution and vigorously shaking the result is a practice used in homeopathy. Although this practice claims to yield positive results, it is still considered to be controversial because of its lack of scientific proof.

Homeopathic preparations of Conium serve as a possible method to treat health problems. These solutions are sold to the public in stores, and the seeds can be purchased over the internet. Conium homeopathic treatments claim to treat a range of problems such as corneal ulceration, red ear wax, and cancer of the face. These solutions are not proven, and overdose from home treatment can lead to death.

Recent Uses

The effect of Conium on breast cancer and prostate cancer has been tested. When extractions of the plant were used on human breast cancer cell lines, cell growth arrest and apoptosis were observed in several areas of the cancer lines. However, homeopathic plant extractions did not have any effect on prostate cancer cells. The reason for these differences are still unknown.

Historical Uses

During the early modern era, Conium was used as one of the main ingredients in flying ointment. When externally applied, the coniine in the flying ointment is said to treat conditions such as fissures, ulcerated hemorrhoids, and pain caused by cancer.

Conium was also used to execute selected prisoners in ancient Greece. The most well known case was in the execution of Socrates, who died after being forced drink hemlock juice.

Controversial Uses In small doses, Conium can be used as a sedative. The coniine found in the plant is the main chemical that attacks the central nervous system, which decreases the amount of movement in the body. Conium has been used for this purpose to subdue the effects of teething and epilepsy. When inhaled, the coniine is believed to interact with the body to suppress coughing. Severe coughing from bronchitis may also be alleviated through the inhalation of Conium vapor.

Homeopaths also prescribe Conium to treat common ailments such as pain; when given a liquid dilution to treat intense pain, it is possible for the pain to end in a few hours. However, these positive outcomes can be a result of the placebo effect. Conium has been used in suicide. The ease at which the seeds can be obtained adds to its misuse. Overdose of the plant quickly results in paralysis and speech loss. Death occurs shortly after when the respiratory system loses its function.

Cordyceps Parasitism
Insect Interaction

Cordyceps parasitizes social insects. The main Arthropod orders infected include Odonata, Blattaria, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Phasmatodea, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. Different species of Cordyceps can parasitize a specific Arthropod order or a combination of Arthropod orders; Cordyceps sinensis exclusively infects Lepidoptera while Beauveria bassiana infects a variety of orders.

The parasitism process begins when spores from the stroma come in contact with the required insect host, which causes the spores to germinate. The germ tubes of the fungus then pass through the exoskeleton of the insect to get inside the body. Possible points of entry in the exoskeleton include the spiracles and tracheae. Cordyceps also have chitonolytic enzymes which play a role in digesting the chitin found in the exoskeleton. This allows the fungus to penetrate the exoskeleton with greater ease.

Once inside the body, the mycelia from the Cordyceps begins the maturation process in the region where the spores first penetrated. Once the mycelia reaches the next stage in its life cycle, the mycelia invades the brain. With the loss of brain function, the insect is unable to correctly detect and process pheromones. This causes the insect to exhibit abnormal behavior. Strange behavior can be observed in ants parasitized by Cordyceps; ants will climb to the top of plants prior to death and remain in the vulnerable area until death. This allows the fungus to develop in a preferred environment and the spores to have the greatest area of contact. The insect dies once the fungus takes over a significant portion of the brain.

The stroma of Cordyceps grows slowly. For species where the insect body decays in soil, the fruit begins to grow from the area where the body is embedded in the humus layer of soil. For species where the insect body decays on plants, the fruit grows directly out of the insect between the head and thorax. Many of the Cordyceps fruits are sterile and incapable of producing spores. However, the mature fertile fruit bodies release spores from the tip of the stroma, which attach to new insects to continue the lifecycle.

Insect Defense

Social insects have mechanisms to protect themselves from Cordyceps. Antimicrobial defenses in their immune systems, which are composed of peptides for specific bacterial strains, allow them to have some type of defense against the parasitic fungus. These systems are built when social insects collectively gather bacteria that produce antibiotics, a practice that is commonly seen in ant colonies. Behavioral defenses are also used for protection. When faced with a possibility of Cordyceps, social insects exhibit behaviors such as increasing the temperature of the colony and participating in communal grooming. These defense mechanisms do not always protect insect colonies from parasitism, but the methods increase their chance of survival.

Social insects are more likely to survive possible Cordyceps invasions when compared to more solitary insects, such as bees. Without the antimicrobial defense and behavioral changes that results from group communication, less social insects are more prone to being used as hosts in the Cordyceps life cycle.