Which plants cause weakness or paralysis due to muscle toxicity?

• A. Acacia and Cynoglossum
• B. Coffee Senna and Sicklepod (Cassia)
• C. Laburnum (Goldenchain) and Delphinium (Larkspur)
• D. Lobelia and Lupinus

Answer: (B)

Muscle toxicity from plants occurs when certain plant compounds directly impair skeletal muscle function or interfere with neuromuscular transmission, leading to weakness and, in more severe cases, paralysis—often with risk to respiratory muscles.

Coffee senna and sicklepod have been described in veterinary toxicology as causing such myotoxic or neuromuscular effects in livestock. Ingestion of these plants can lead to generalized weakness and, with sufficient exposure, flaccid paralysis due to disruption of nerve-to-muscle signaling or direct muscle fiber impairment. This pattern fits the prompt of weakness or paralysis caused by plant-derived toxins affecting muscle function.

Other plants on the list are associated with different primary toxic effects. For example, some are noted for neuromuscular effects that can progress to paralysis, but their hallmark toxic profiles often center on other organ systems or mechanisms, whereas coffee senna and sicklepod are recognized in the context of muscle toxicity, making them the best match for this question.