Curatura

Curatura, or curare, refers to a group of plant-derived poisons historically used by Indigenous peoples of the Amazon to poison arrow tips. The name is drawn from indigenous languages and entered European science in the early modern period. These preparations are not a single chemical but a mixture of alkaloids obtained from various plants.

Traditional curare preparations come from plants such as Chondrodendron tomentosum and Strychnos toxifera; the active alkaloids include d-tubocurarine and related curariform compounds. The preparation involves maceration and extraction of plant material, yielding a resin or tincture applied to darts or placed on the tips of blowgun projectiles.

In modern medicine, curare-like alkaloids act as non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers. They competitively inhibit acetylcholine at nicotinic receptors at the neuromuscular junction, producing relaxation of skeletal muscles, including those used for breathing, without affecting consciousness or pain perception. They do not cross the blood-brain barrier.

Medical use and safety: Curare-derived agents are used as muscle relaxants during anesthesia to facilitate intubation and surgical access. Modern derivatives such as atracurium, vecuronium, rocuronium, and pancuronium are administered intravenously and require careful dosing and ventilation of the patient. Reversal is achieved with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or, for some agents, with sugammadex. Side effects can include histamine release with hypotension, arrhythmias, and, in overdose or organ impairment, prolonged paralysis. Indigeneous use persists in some regions, while the pharmaceutical use of curarine derivatives remains widespread in modern anesthesia.