Safety: Human poison by ingestion. Experimental poison by ingestion, intravenous, subcutaneous, and intraperitoneal routes. Experimental reproductive effects. An allergen. Lethal dose to man: 30–60 mg/kg. If ingested, the time of action depends upon the condition of the stomach, whether empty or full, and the nature of the food present. If taken by subcutaneous injection, the place of administration of the injection will affect the time of action. The first symptoms are a feeling of uneasiness with a heightened reflex of irritability, followed by muscular twitching in some parts of the body. With larger doses, this is followed by a sense of impending suffocation. Convulsive movements begin that have the effect of mechanically causing the patient to cry out or to shriek; then follow the characteristic spasms, which set in with violence. These are at first clonic and then tonic. There are successive attacks of spasms. With each successive attack, the symptoms become more violent, eventually resulting in death. A rodenticide. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of NOx.
Analytical Methods:
For occupational chemical analysis use NIOSH: Strychnine, 5016.