Definition of "alkaloid" []

• Any of various organic compounds normally with basic chemical properties and usually containing at least one nitrogen atom in a heterocyclic ring, occurring chiefly in many vascular plants and some fungi. Many alkaloids, such as nicotine, quinine, cocaine, and morphine, are known for their poisonous or medicinal attributes. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Aconite root contains about 0.4 per cent. of alkaloid and one-fifteenth of a grain of the alkaloid is a lethal dose."
• "According to Grupe Dr. Pina used this substance with great success in the treatment of malarial fevers, but neither Grupe's report nor Pina's experiment are of any scientific value, inasmuch as they have neglected to mention the doses in which the so-called alkaloid was employed."
• "Cocaine is an alkaloid which is contained in the Erythroxylon coca which grows in the Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia 1000 to 3000 m. above sea level. 1 The first use of cocaine in history was by the Peruvian Indians in the 6th century who chewed on the coca leaves for the sense of wellness and endurance which it produced and who believed it to be a part of the Inca religion. 2"