The chemistry of both plants and animals have one common source and thanks to that fact many chemicals produced in tha Plantae kingdom has effects, both good and bad, in the animal world.
The toxic effects of curare is caused by its selective affinity for certain cholinergic receptors in certain types of muscle-connected nervous tissue cells. The Psychological effects of psilocin is caused by this substances effects on seretonin pathways in the brain. Both these substances interact with receptors made for "animal-chemicals" even though neither comes from the animal kingdom(Curare is found in plants from the families Menispermaceae and Asteridaceae and psilocin is found in fungi of the families Psilocybe and Panaeolus). |
