Is suicide with yew seeds painful?

[Deleted member 23726]

Do yew seeds cause feeling of panic or pain?

 

[Sensei]

Ingesting poisonous plant material almost invariably entails a slow and painful death. I don't know about yew in particular, though. Some quick googling: you will die of cardiac arrest. The question is if you'll lose consciousness before that happens.

 

[WornOutLife]

I think it is! Here's some extract from google:

"The first symptoms of yew seeds poisoning:(nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diffuse abdominal pain, tachycardia, muscle weakness and confusion)"

The abdominal pain part really worries me. I couldn't bear it because my stomatch sucks these days.

 

[sadworld]

It's probably really painful. I don't know much about it.

 

[Deleted member 24152]

Yew is a very poisonous plant. If you take very large amounts of taxin, it can kill you within half an hour. Saving a person poisoned by yew is limited. There is actually no specific antidote, so it consists of gastric lavage and other generally accepted procedures for toxin poisoning. I would be afraid of the side effects. And I think it's painful.
And to poison yourself with yew you have to try hard. You have to crush the seeds and chew the leaves(for example), otherwise the compounds will not be released. There are other more reliable plants.

 

[DetachedDreamer97]

I think it is! Here's some extract from google:

"The first symptoms of yew seeds poisoning:(nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diffuse abdominal pain, tachycardia, muscle weakness and confusion)"

The abdominal pain part really worries me. I couldn't bear it because my stomatch sucks these days.

One thing that makes yew an unpleasant experienceis the oils found in the leaves as well as the seeds. There's also ephedrine. The oils is what causes GI distress due to irritation, and the ephedrine act as a stinulant, cancelling out the effects of the taxines.

Fortunately, both the oils and ephedrine are soluble in solvents whereas taxine is not, such as petroleum ether (or other nonpolar solvents), and water.
Basically, you're going to have to do a pre-extraction to get rid of the impeding compounds, then do an alcoholic/acetone extraction to get the taxine.

Also, the dose required for the seeds and leaves respectively is ~1.4 and 2 grams per kilogram.

Yew is a very poisonous plant. If you take very large amounts of taxin, it can kill you within half an hour. Saving a person poisoned by yew is limited. There is actually no specific antidote, so it consists of gastric lavage and other generally accepted procedures for toxin poisoning. I would be afraid of the side effects. And I think it's painful.
And to poison yourself with yew you have to try hard. You have to crush the seeds and chew the leaves(for example), otherwise the compounds will not be released. There are other more reliable plants.

You could chew them, but the taste (especially leaves) are gonna be impalatable and will likely make you throw up.
A more efficient way to consume them is to extract the taxine and make it a tincture or an extract.

 

[Deleted member 24152]

One thing that makes yew an unpleasant experienceis the oils found in the leaves as well as the seeds. There's also ephedrine. The oils is what causes GI distress due to irritation, and the ephedrine act as a stinulant, cancelling out the effects of the taxines.

Fortunately, both the oils and ephedrine are soluble in solvents whereas taxine is not, such as petroleum ether (or other nonpolar solvents), and water.
Basically, you're going to have to do a pre-extraction to get rid of the impeding compounds, then do an alcoholic/acetone extraction to get the taxine.

Also, the dose required for the seeds and leaves respectively is ~1.4 and 2 grams per kilogram.

You could chew them, but the taste (especially leaves) are gonna be impalatable and will likely make you throw up.
A more efficient way to consume them is to extract the taxine and make it a tincture or an extract.

You are certainly right. A decoction of leaves would probably be the best. Are you sure dose is in grams? Maybe it also depends on the season because the highest concentration of taxoids is said to occur in January.

 

[DetachedDreamer97]

You are certainly right. A decoction of leaves would probably be the best. Are you sure dose is in grams? Maybe it also depends on the season because the highest concentration of taxoids is said to occur in January.

Yeah. Also the measurement of leaves at 2grams/kilo is for when it's at its lowest and at 4 times the lowest lethal dose.
Seeds, remain the same at a constant 0.92%, so you don't have to worry about that.