Poison nut or Quaker button, the seed of Strychnos nux-vomica (family Logeniaceae), a tree of tropical Asia; it contains two alkaloids, strychnine and brucine; it has been used as a bitter tonic and central nervous system stimulant. [Mod. L. emetic nut, fr. L. nux, nut, + vomo, to vomit]
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1) the poisonous seed of an Asian tree of the genus Strychnos (S. nux-vomica) that contains several alkaloids and esp. strychnine and brucine also the tree yielding nux vomica
2) a drug containing nux vomica
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the seed of the tree Strychnos nux-vomica, which contains the poisonous alkaloid strychnine.
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the dried ripe seed of Strychnos nux-vomica L. (Loganiaceae), containing several alkaloids, principally strychnine and brucine. It has been used as a bitter tonic and central nervous system stimulant, and in veterinary medicine it is used as a bitter tonic and in the treatment of inappetence, atony of the rumen, and chronic indigestion.Medical dictionary. 2011.