Is Mexican vanilla toxic?

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
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Regarding coumarin derived from the tonka bean: there is a blood thinner, used for heart conditions/ prevention of strokes, branded as Coumadin. I worked on the marketing of this product back in the 90’s. Imagine my shock when I discovered Coumadin is warafin, a potent rat poison.

If I remember correctly, it is offered in five different dosages.

Coumadin has been used since the 1940’s as a blood thinner, so I’m puzzled that the FDA Consumer would say “there has been no indication that coumarin itself produces this blood-thinning effect in humans.”

I’m also puzzled why doctors would prescribe rat-poison to treat anything. Maybe they figure, “Hey, this guy will be dead soon enough…”

LINK TO COLUMN: Is Mexican vanilla toxic? Plus: What happens if you microwave the popcorn upside down? - The Straight Dope

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It’s the dosage that makes the difference between treatment and harmful. Too much of anything can kill you, including water.

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Oh, and Coumadin and coumarin are not the same substance, merely related.

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Nor are warafin and warfarin.

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Other than that, how was the show Mrs. Lincoln…?

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Nicotine has been used as a poison too.

And yet they sell it legally in tobacco products!

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In some cases, a drug can have beneficial qualities in one area that outweight the disadvantages. Just ask the makers of Desoxyn.

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Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, vonerlac, we’re glad you found us. For future ref: when you start a thread, it’s helpful to other readers to provide a link to the column in question. Saves searching time and helps keep us on the same page. No biggie, I’ve edited it into the bottom of your post, and you’ll know for next time. And, as I say, welcome!

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I was confused by this as well. This wikipedia pageis very helpful to understand the distinctions. Scroll down and look at a comparison chart of the different molecular structures of coumarin, coumadin (warfarin), and other related compounds.

It’s called “science”. Specifically, you know a certain compound causes a particular kind of response - i.e. blood thinning. You know if a mammal (i.e. a rat) ingests a large dose, it will bleed out without control and die. Ergo, you know you can use it as a rat poison. You just have to package it in something the mammal (i.e. rat) will eat.

Separately, you realize there are blood issues where clotting and such are a problem, and blood thinning might be beneficial. You determine a dosage that causes the effect you desire while not overdosing to the level of killing the patient. Now you have a medical use for something that is also, in other forms and dosages, a rat poison.

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I’m on Warfarin; I have to have my blood tested at least once a month, and I have to avoid changing the amount of Vitamin K I ingest, lest there be an interaction—or less of an interaction than there already is. If I’m going to have any kind of surgical procedure, I have to discontinue taking the stuff, and then when I start again, I have to have shots to keep me normalized until the Warfarin kicks in.

Yeah, it’s rat poison. But a coronary thrombosis would be much worse.

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The OP might also be surprised that snake venom has a role in medicine.

Everything is toxic; it’s the dose that makes the poison.