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Calabar bean
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Calabar bean

legume
Also known as: Physostigma venenosum
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Quick Summary

The Calabar bean is a highly poisonous, dark brown seed from a tropical West African woody vine, Physostigma venenosum. It is a type of legume, which are fruits from plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. Historically, these beans were used as an ordeal poison in African witchcraft trials.12

The Calabar bean is a source of physostigmine, a crystalline alkaloid used in medicine. Physostigmine is an anticholinesterase that can reverse the toxic effects of certain drugs and is used topically to treat glaucoma. Legumes, in general, are important food sources for humans and animals and can contain poisonous secondary compounds that protect them from predators.324

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5 Britannica Sources
  1. Calabar bean
  2. physostigmine
  3. Calabar potto
  4. legume
  5. Fabaceae - Biochemicals

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