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Oenanthotoxin is a toxin extracted from hemlock water-dropwort ( Oenanthe crocata) and other plants of the genus Oenanthe. It is a central nervous system poison, and acts as a noncompetitive antagonist of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid. A case has been made for the presence of this toxin in local Oenanthe species playing a causative role in euthanasia in ancient Sardinia. It was crystallized in 1949 by Clarke and co-workers.E. G. C. Clarke, D. E. Kidder and W. D. Robertson (1949) J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 1 377-381 It is structurally closely related to the toxins cicutoxin and carotatoxin. Oenanthotoxin is a C17 polyacetylene isomer of cicutoxin.
A common symptom of oenanthotoxin is risus sardonicus, better known as the Sardonic Grin, coined by Homer in the 8th century BC, due to the victim's rigid smile after ingestion.
Oenanthotoxin is part of a group of C17 conjugated polyyne that act as noncompetitive gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitors in the central nervous system (CNS). GABA binds to the beta-domain of the GABAA receptor in the central nervous system and activates the receptor increasing chloride ion flow across the membrane and inhibiting the neuron. When oenanthotoxin is introduced to the body, it non-competitively binds to the same beta-domain receptor as GABA and prevents normal inhibitory function. Binding to the same receptor, oenanthotoxin blocks the chloride channel, allowing excessive excitation to occur. This, blocking GABAergic responses, causes hyperactivity in the neurons, resulting in convulsions, and seizures.
Below is a comprehensive table listing the recorded symptoms caused by oenanthotoxin within each system in the body Oenanthe crocata:
| slurred speech, dizziness, paresthesia, delirium, ataxia, coma, seizures, trismus, hyperreflexia, opisthotonus, spasms, cerebral edema, status epilepticus |
| nausea, vomiting, salivation, abdominal pain |
| congestion, distress, depression, airway obstruction, arrest, apnea |
| tachycardia, brachycardia, hypertension, hypotension, cardiac dysrhythmias, cardiac arrest |
| glycosuria, proteinuria, hematuria, oliguria, myoglobinuria, acute renal failure |
| weakness, muscle spasms, muscle rigidity, rhabdomyolysis |
| elevated temperature, liver dysfunction, hypokalemia, lactic dehydrogenase, disseminating (intravascular, coagulation), metabolic acidosis, azotemia |
| mydriasis |
| diaphoresis, cyanosis, flushed face |
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