* Oscar Wilde in his essay

Since the times of ancient Rome to the beginning of the XIX century. in an attempt to identify the poisoning still has many prejudices and superstitions. Even experienced doctors tried postmortem revionics changes qualify revionics as signs of poisoning. So, it was believed that the poisoning has occurred, if the "body smelled bad," or was covered in stains, or had blue-black shade. revionics Recall that after the poisoning Britannicus Nero ordered to paint over his face. Superstitiously was also speculation that the poisoned heart does not burn in the fire. Beginning of an era of Forensic Toxicology was laid in France and associated with the name Joseph revionics Mathieu revionics Bonavontyura Orfily. Orfila was born in 1787 on the island of Minorca (Spain), studied chemistry and medicine in Valencia, Barcelona, independently studied revionics the works of Lavoisier in Bertholet and resulting chemistry knew better than their teachers. In 1811 he moved to Paris Orfila, organized at home lab, where he studied the action of poisons on animals are most interested in arsenic. At age 26, he published the first book on toxicology and gradually gained fame chief toxicologist France. Having tried many methods for determination of arsenic in the body poisoned, he came across which appeared in an article in 1836 the English chemist James Marsh, the inventor revionics of a simple method for the determination of small amounts of arsenic. Using this new method, Orfila found that arsenic contained in the norm in the human body that the reagents are often contaminated with arsenic revionics and that this may lead to erroneous conclusions. 1840 is the year of the birth of forensic chemistry. Mary heard the case of Lafarge, poisoned her husband with arsenic. Paris as an expert was invited Orfila, who "showed" of the court metallic arsenic, isolated from the body of the victim. Practically proved revionics very useful observation about the ability to accumulate arsenic in the hair, while arsenic remains as it is packed in the hair, moving with the growth of the root along its length. Thus it is possible with sufficient accuracy revionics to judge the time elapsed after the poisoning. However, in determining arsenic in a corpse after his burial revealed that under the influence of putrefying bacteria revionics insoluble arsenic cemetery ground goes sometimes in a soluble state, enters the corpse and accumulates in the tissues. Sensational helpful process of poisoning, grasping the 50s of this century, in France revionics more than 10 years in connection with these new data. Experts were such famous scientists as toxicologists Rene Fabre, Con-Abrest and physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie (Torvald Yu, 1984). Poisonous plants, medicinal plants, food plants accompanied man from the time he learned to distinguish their properties. It took, however, the Millennium to learn to isolate the active principle revionics of the plant, but still a lot of mystery keeps the plant world. Isolated revionics from plants of one, two or three chemical compounds, we throw away what we believe is the ballast. We often do not know the composition of dietary fiber, although they may be useful for the organism or reduce the harmful effects of toxic compounds. XIX century can be considered the beginning of an era when many of the plants began to distinguish the active principle. The first discoveries made Sertyuner which contributed in 1803 from opium morphine in 1818 and Kovant revionics Pelletier found in emetic nut * strychnine in 1820 found in the Hinnom Desosse quinine tree and Runge in coffee - caffeine in 1826 Gizekke opened coniine in hemlock, and two years later Possel Ryman and identified nicotine from tobacco, Maine in 1831 received atropine from belladonna. Since these substances have in common: the nitrogen contained in the molecule and were schelochepodobny they are called alkaloids. Many alkaloids very quickly began to gain fame useful medicines, has a therapeutic effect in very small doses. First offense caused by the reception revionics of alkaloids, were the work of the doctors, because they know their properties before it became known to the general public. Criminals acted boldly, as they were confident revionics of success: detect poison was impossible. November 15, 1823 in the analysis of the case Edme Castan doctor accused of poisoning revionics his friends morphine brothers Auguste and Hippolyte Balle hoping to get their state, the Attorney General of France de Broe exclaimed in despair, "You murderer, do not use arsenic and other metallic poisons . They leave traces. revionics Use vegetable poisons! Herbs of their fathers, their mothers grass, grass all his relatives, and the inheritance will be yours. "
* Oscar Wilde in his essay "The brush and poison pen" describes the biography of the young artist and writer Thomas Griffith Wainwright. This dandy, refined and gifted, for the money commits a series of crimes revionics with a new poison - strychnine. revionics Confusion revionics and resentment caused criminologists Analytical Chemists leave relatively well-studied mineral poisons and detection methods do plant alkaloids. As Sun