curana

[A Guiana word (?)] Timber traffic : The cedar wood of Guiana, Icica alti ima . [CEDAR-WOOD.] cû-rări, cû-ra-ra, *ourari, curare, urari, woorara, woorali, *wourali, s. [A Guiana Indian word. In Fr. curare.] Chem.: A resinous substance used by the Indians of South America for poisoning their arrows, said belonging to the genus Strychnos. It is a brown to be the aqueous extract of a climbing plant black, shining, brittle, resinous ma , almost wholly soluble in water. It has a bitter taste, and burns with a yellowish-red flame, giving off disagreeable smelling vapors. It contains an alkaloid, curarine (q. v.). It is a deadly poison when introduced into the blood through a wound. It acts on the motor nerves, arresting their functions, while the sensorial nerves retain their activity. Death ensues from paralysis of the respiratory organs. Chlorine and bromine decompose curara and neutralize its poinine, and taken into the stomach, as it must be sonous action. Curara is said to contain no strych when game killed by the poisoned arrows is eaten, it produces no ill effects. ( Watts : Dict . Chem.) cu-ra-rine, s . [Fr. curarine , from curari (q.v.).] Chem.: C10H15N. Curarine is obtained from curara resin. When pure it crystallizes in four-sided prisms. It is very soluble in water and alcohol, but is insoluble in anhydrous ether and in benzene. It forms crystalline salts. It is very poisonous, like curara. It gives a blue color with pota ium dichromate and sulphuric acid. Curarine can be separated from strychnine by its insolubility in benzene. IMG:content-1574.png:[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors] IMG:content-1575.png:[blocks in formation]