Chem. Also coneine. [f. L. coni-um, Gr. κώνειον hemlock + -IN.] An alkaloid (C8H15N) that forms the poisonous principle of hemlock (Conium maculatum); it is an oily liquid, with a peculiar suffocating odor, and violently poisonous, producing paralysis of the terminations of the motor nerves, and consequent asphyxia. Also conia, conicine.
1831. J. Davies, Manual Mat. Med., 316. Coniin possesses the following properties.
1882. Watts, Dict. Chem., II. 2. Conine exists in combination with acids in all parts of the hemlock-plant, but most abundantly in the fruit a little before maturity.
attrib. 1878. trans. Ziemssen’s Cycl. Med., XVII. 818. As a general rule, cardiac pulsation is retarded in coniine-poisoning.
