ABSTRACT
Although usually the final outcomes of P. harmala poisoning are benign, fatalities occur and call to mind the power of, and respect due, Peganum. There is apparently no antidote to the poisoning, with supportive treatment only being indicated. Wild rue, almost always the seeds, is not only consumed by chewing or by imbibing an aqueous decoction. Seeds may also be smoked, or scattered on red-hot charcoal as incense, and may be used in this or a similar manner as a fumigant. The toxicity of harmal owes to alkaloids, specifically ß-carboline, indole alkaloids, and most specifically the harmala alkaloids, named for the plant, P. harmala. These compounds, including harmine, harmalol, and harmaline, bind strongly to nucleic acids, owing to their long bulky side chains, and thus can affect cells at their "cores". Humans need to be careful with it, and usually they have been, using it particularly as part of sacramental rites.
