Ergot

baking. Under high temperatures and consumption, many people became victims to the frightening disease ergot of rye , back then nicknamed “holy fire” or “St. Anthony’s Fire”;nowadays, the only victims of this disease is seen among animals that consume plants holding the Ergot parasite (Schumann 2005). Although the genus Claviceps has only 50 species under its name, Claviceps purpurea (purple ergot) is the only one presently found on over 200 grass species that are commonly found in temperate…

However, the origin of Lysergic acid diethylamide or specifically what makes up LSD, lysergic acid, can be narrowed down as an ergot alkaloid found in the Ergot Fungus (Claviceps purpurea), a parasite commonly located on rye and other species of grain or wild grasses (Schumann 2016). After placing themselves on the desired rye or some other species of grains, it uses the plant as a host in the…

people’s lives. But till this day many people still do not know the real reasons behind the Salem witch trials and how they all began. The trials had many factors that played into it which were: ergot poisoning, rivalries, and lastly boredom which really caused the most damage. Ergot What is ergot? Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye, which today is used to reduce bleeding. But during the time of salem witch trials rye was something that can cause hallucinations and convulsions similar to what…

According to Theory number 1, Ergot fungus contaminated the crops harvested by the people of Salem, Massachusetts which developed the hallucinations of the citizens and started the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, they harvested a great deal of wheat, rye and cereal grasses. Ergot, or ergot poisoning, is a fungus that attacks the central nervous system and causes muscle contractions, confusion, impaired speech, crawling sensations on the skin and hallucinations. The girls in Salem had feelings of…

odd positions. The two explanations that I believe could be the most plausible is, ergot poisoning, and boredom. Ergot poisoning, is something a person could get from eating rye or bread that has fungus growing into the body of the food. Historians claims that ergot poison could explain, why the girls blamed people for being witches since the symptoms were the same as ergot poisoning. The symptoms of eating ergot is, cold chills, hallucinations, vomiting, and choking, which are the exact same…

mycotoxins were the reason of the trials because there are many studies that show a certain mycotoxin, ergot, as being a probable cause of the trials. These researchers postulated that ergot poisoning…

made during that time could have a fungus, ergot. Some signs off this was the weather, the present symptoms, and information about ergot. First, lets define what ergot is, a fungus that grows on rye and less common on other grasses such as wheat (webmd.com). Rye bread was one of the more common foods consumed during the time of the Salem Witch Trails. Ergot's scientific name is claviceps purpures. Ergot grows on different grains, but mainly rye. Ergot grows on the flower of the plant…

One such theory is the outbreak of Ergot on rye bread that the villagers use as a food source caused the girls who started the panic to have mass hallucinations and delusions (L. Annika). The theory is that the three girls who started the panic consumed the Ergot and started having hallucinations, the hallucinations could have been the cause of the girls behavior (L. Annika). Ergotism is involved in many plagues such as the Bubonic plague and the Holy Fire (“Ergot…

the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller the trials started when Parris’s daughter felt ill which caused people to start rumors and theories that accused other people of witchcraft. Several theories that could explain what happened in Salem include ergot poisoning, cold weather, jealousy, boredom, and religion. In the following paragraphs, each theory will be discussed in detail on their effectiveness to the actual…

This included very unusual symptoms such as contortions and hallucinating apparitions. Due to the lack of knowledge, the Puritans commonly mistook symptoms of illnesses for witchcraft, which may have included the diseases of dystonia, rabies, and ergot poisoning. In Rosalyn Schanzerś WITCHES The Absolutely True Tale Of…