User:Rwykes/sandbox

The strangler is a fictional poison from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire also featured in HBO's television series Game of Thrones. It is famous for its use in the death of Joffrey Baratheon. The toxin itself is extracted from a plant and stored in a dark purple crystal.

Symptoms
The strangler has a very distinct constellation of symptoms designed to mimic the effects of choking. The poison suffocates its victims by contracting the smooth muscles in the neck, constricting the windpipe. Poisoning is also accompanied by cyanosis, a result of severe hypoxia. The victim is said to turn as purple as the crystal itself. .

Inspiration
The Strangler appears to take inspiration from multiple real poisons. Pop culture analysts have suggested strychnine, nicotine, and cyanide as possible real-life analogues to this deadly poison. All three poisons can produce suffocation in victims, the primary symptom of death-by-strangler. It should be noted, however, that the method of suffocation differs between the three. Strychnine and nicotine can result in muscular strangulation while cyanide produces a metabolic strangulation. The Strangler, as it’s presented, is a muscular strangulation – the victim’s throat muscles contract and prevent air from physically passing through the trachea. Strychnine and nicotine both affect the transmission of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine receptors are found both in the brain and on muscles. When these receptors are stimulated, the receptor opens ion channels. It should be noted that these receptors produce a similar response when exposed to nicotine. Nicotine binds to the same site as acetylcholine and produces the same response. Toxically high levels of nicotine have been shown to cause contraction in the smooth muscles around the trachea and bronchi which leads to constriction of the airway and suffocation. Strychnine, on the other hand, reduces inhibition on cholinergic neurons. This occurs through acting as an antagonist on Glycine receptors. Glycine is an amino acid used as an inhibitory signal in the nervous system. Strychnine binds to the glycine receptor and locks the ion channel closed thus preventing the inhibitory signal from kicking in. Further downstream this causes the build up of acetylcholine producing a constellation of symptoms among which are both cyanosis (blue coloring) and respiratory failure.

Preparation
According to Maester Cressen in the opening of A Clash of Kings, the process to create strangler crystals is difficult and expensive. Leaves from a rare plant are harvested and then aged before being soaked in a wash of limes, sugar, and rare spices. The leaves are then removed and ash is added. The resulting mixture thickens and is allowed to crystalize.

The aging and curing process mirrors the production of both tobacco and tea. Tobacco leaves, upon harvest, are also aged. The aging process of is designed to optimize nicotine content while minimize other byproducts. . Precise drying allows cellular membranes to stay intact while oxidation is occurring. This would leave the toxin within the leaves intact while drying is occurring.

The wash of limes resembles an acid-base extraction. Similar techniques are used to isolate alkaloids like nicotine or strychnine. Adding an acid to the solution would protonate an alkaloid within the leaves. This is because alkaloids are basic. This would protonate the poison and allow it to dissolve. Ash is then mixed into the solution. This would neutralize the acidic solution and allow it to thicken. The sugar and spice are allowed to crystalize with the poison creating the strangler crystals.

The use of sugar and spice are curious. While the sugar may serve as a crystal structure around the poison, their other function is likely to mask the flavor of the toxin. Toxins are notoriously bitter tasting. Any bitter taste produced by the strangler would be masked by the tastes of sugar, spice, and the wine it’s served in. This makes the strangler much harder to detect.