NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Most historians today believe that the witchcraft trials that led to thousands of deaths and burnings at the stake in Europe during the Dark Ages were likely related to outbreaks of ergot poisonings. The unfortunate victims of the Salem witch trials of 1692 also exhibited symptoms of ergot poisonings.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1976 Linnda Caporael offered the first evidence that the Salem witch trials followed an outbreak of rye ergot. Ergot is a fungus blight that forms hallucinogenic drugs in bread. Its victims can appear bewitched when they’re actually stoned.

Detailed explanation-3: -Many historians believe that an ergot infestation in Massachusetts caused strange activities among some women in 1691 and eventually led to the Salem witch hunts. Toxicologists now know that ergot poisoning can lead to convulsions, spasms, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin and erratic behaviors.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and less commonly on other grasses such as wheat. Ergot has an interesting history. During the Middle Ages, ergotism, a severe reaction to ergot-contaminated food (such as rye bread), was common and was known as St. Anthony’s fire.

Detailed explanation-5: -Once contracted from rye bread, ergotism (also called St. Anthony’s fire) causes severe convulsions, muscle spasms, delusions, the sensation of crawling under the skin, and, in extreme cases, gangrene of the extremities.