Curare is a substance extracted from certain South American plants like Strychnos toxifera. It was first used to coat darts and arrows to paralyze and kill animals and people by natives to the Amazon and Orinoco regions. It has been reproduced artificially and has been used in medical experiments on animals as well as during surgery with humans as an aid to immobilizing certain muscles.
Paralysis
Paralysis of skeletal muscles is one effect of a curare injection into the bloodstream. Curare works by blocking nerve impulses at the myoneuronal junction, according to Drugs.com.
Muscle Relaxation
Relaxation of voluntary muscles is an effect of curare injection. Clinically, Drugs.com states, curare can aid in stabilizing a patient for surgery without affecting the patient's central nervous system.
Temporary Effects
The muscle-relaxing attributes of curare are temporary, according to the Discoveries in Medicine website. As long as the patient is given respiration aids, the effects of the muscles relaxation are not life threatening.
Spasm Control
Curare and its artificially produced similar compounds can help control involuntary muscle spasms in epilepsy and convulsions from tetanus, drug overdoses and black widow spider bites. It can also be used to relax thracheal muscles for intubation.
