Sabadilla

Sabadilla, CEBADILLA, or CEVADILLA (Schænocaulon officinale), a Mexican plant of the natural order Melanthaceæ, the seeds of which are employed in medicine. In the British Pharmacopoeia the dried ripe seeds receive the name of Sabadilla. They contain an alkaloid, veratrine, which is officinal, and probably other closely allied substances. When applied externally the powdered sabadilla or veratrine is first irritant and then anaesthetic; both forms are used in rheumatic and neuralgic pains. Snuffed into the nostrils they cause violent sneezing and irritation. Taken by the mouth they are also irritant, if in too large a dose, and induce pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. After absorption into the blood in medicinal doses they act chiefly on the muscles, and depress the heart and circulation and the body temperature. They are employed chiefly in acute febrile diseases in strong, healthy persons, but must be used with great caution on account of their marked depressant effects. The dose of veratrine is $\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ to $\backslash frac\{1\}\{4\}$ grain.