Sodium monofluoroacetate

Sodium fluoroacetate is a chemical compound that is a poison for many organisms. Pesticides used kill rodents sometimes contain Sodium monofluoroacetate. Sometimes the chemical substance is used as a marker for cancer cells in Positron emission tomography. TO act as a marker, only very small quantities of a substance are needed. For this reason, the toxicity of Sodium fluoroacetate is not a problem.

Dichapetalum cymosum

Fluoroacetate occurs naturally in at least 40 plants in Australia, Brazil, and Africa. It was first identified in the poison leaf (gifblaar) Dichapetalum cymosum by Marais in 1944.^[1]^[2] As early as 1904, colonists in Sierra Leone used extracts of Chailletia toxicaria which also contains fluoroacetic acid or its salts to poison rats.^[3]^[4]^[5] Several native Australian plant genera contain the toxin, including: Gastrolobium, Gompholobium, Oxylobium, Nemcia and Acacia.

Sodium Monofluoroacetate Media

Common brushtail possum, an invasive pest in New Zealand whose population is controlled with sodium fluoroacetate
Sign warning of poisonous sodium fluoroacetate baits on the West Coast of New Zealand

References

↑ Marais, J. C. S. (1943). "The isolation of the toxic principle "K cymonate" from "Gifblaar", Dichapetalum cymosum". Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry. 18: 203.
↑ Marais, J. C. S. (1944). "Monofluoroacetic acid, the toxic principle of "gifblaar" Dichapetalum cymosum". Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry. 20: 67.
↑ Renner (1904). "Chemical and Physiological Examination of the Fruit of Chailletia Toxicaria". Jour African Soc.: 109.
↑ Power, F. B.; Tutin, F. (1906). "Chemical and Physiological Examination of the Fruit of Chailletia toxicaria". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 28 (9): 1170–1183. doi:10.1021/ja01975a007.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Vartiainen, T.; Kauranen, P. (1984). "The determination of traces of fluoroacetic acid by extractive alkylation, pentafluorobenzylation and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry". Analytica Chimica Acta. 157 (1): 91–97. doi:10.1016/S0003-2670(00)83609-0.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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[maraisa-1] Marais, J. C. S. (1943). "The isolation of the toxic principle "K cymonate" from "Gifblaar", Dichapetalum cymosum". Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry. 18: 203.

[maraisb-2] Marais, J. C. S. (1944). "Monofluoroacetic acid, the toxic principle of "gifblaar" Dichapetalum cymosum". Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Industry. 20: 67.

[renner-3] Renner (1904). "Chemical and Physiological Examination of the Fruit of Chailletia Toxicaria". Jour African Soc.: 109.

[power-4] Power, F. B.; Tutin, F. (1906). "Chemical and Physiological Examination of the Fruit of Chailletia toxicaria". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 28 (9): 1170–1183. doi:10.1021/ja01975a007.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[5] Vartiainen, T.; Kauranen, P. (1984). "The determination of traces of fluoroacetic acid by extractive alkylation, pentafluorobenzylation and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry". Analytica Chimica Acta. 157 (1): 91–97. doi:10.1016/S0003-2670(00)83609-0.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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