sugammadex. History As long ago as 1862, adventurer Don Ramon Paez described a Venezuelan poison, guachamaca, which the indigenous peoples used to lace sardines as bait for herons and cranes. If the head and neck of a bird so killed was cut off, the remainder of the flesh could be eaten safely. Paez also described the attempt of a Llanero woman to murder a rival to her lover's affections with guachamaca and unintentionally killed 10 other people when her husband shared his food with their guests. It is probable that the plant was Malouetia nitida or Malouetia schomburgki. The genus Malouetia (family Apocynaceae) is found in both South America and Africa. The botanist Robert E. Woodson Jr comprehensively classified the American species of Malouetia in 1935. At that time, only one African species of Malouetia was recognized, but the following year Woodson described a second: Malouetia bequaertiana, from the Belgian Congo. In 1960, scientists reported the isolation of malouetine from the roots and bark of Malouetia bequaertiana Woodson by means of an ion exchange technique. Optimization of the aminosteroid nucleus led to a sequence of synthesized derivatives, ultimately leading to pancuronium bromide in 1964. The name was derived from p(iperidino)an(drostane)cur(arising)-onium. A paper published in 1973 discussed the structure-activity relationships of a series of aminosteroid muscle relaxants, including the mono-quaternary analogue of pancuronium, later called vecuronium. Society and culture Non-medical use Vecuronium bromide has been used as part of a drug cocktail that prisons in the United States use for execution by lethal injection. Vecuronium is used to paralyze the prisoner and stop his or her breathing, in conjunction with a sedative and potassium chloride to stop the prisoner's heart. Injections of vecuronium bromide without proper sedation allow the person to be fully awake but unable to move in response to pain. In 2001, Japanese nurse Daisuke Mori was reported to have murdered 10 patients using vecuronium bromide. He was convicted of murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. References External links Acetate esters Androstanes Muscle relaxants Schering-Plough brands Neuromuscular blockers Nicotinic antagonists Piperidines Quaternary ammonium compounds Wikipedia medicine articles ready to translate World Health Organization essential medicines