Secrets of the Dead Bewitched

For more information about Jenny Barraclough and her work in documentary television, please visit: www.jennybarrac...
SECRETS OF THE DEAD
A film about the tragic disease of ergotism. People in the middle ages who suffered from ergotism appeared mad because of the convulsive symptons, and were accused of being witches and were often burnt at the stake. . They would have diarrhea, itching, mental effects including mania or psychosis, headaches, nausea and vomiting and terrible hallucinations. .It was caused by eating fungal sclerotia growing on barley
The dry gangrene is a result of vasoconstriction induced by the ergotamine-ergocristine alkaloids of the fungus.
This dramatic film shows the tragic consequences for the individuals unlucky enough to get this disease.

[@teddy1066]

How Jenny Barraclough’s The Bomb Disposal Men (1974) didn’t win a BAFTA astounds me. That was world class filmmaking.

[@bilbomalice2643]

Is there a name for the music at 14:12 ? I really wanna know if I can find it anywhere else

[@KC-nd7nt]

HENDRIX

[@KimberlySays...]

@@KC-nd7nt BINGO

[@LuciThomasHardylover-qx6ts]

Very interesting. The only shame was the young blonde girl writhing around ina pseudo -sexual way with a thin shift right up her thighs showing her bottom that punctuated a very serious story. Always unnecessary and also demeaning and boring. Other than that! I've remembered this from years ago when I saw it first aired,so very glad to see again!

[@santamariadelfiore3343]

In italiano? Plese

[@KC-nd7nt]

Silly. Alkaloids can be in a few foods consumed at that time . Tea and coffee if they had coffee contains the same chemical signature as shown in the video . I thought this was historical and based in fact and and science .

[@martinnicholls9056]

Sadly, you have misinterpreted the interview where 'alkaloids' were mentioned. Yes, ergot produces an alkaloid known as ergotamine, but this is a far cry from generally harmless alkaloids like caffeine. In fact alkaloids are a very diverse chemical group and have an equally diverse range of effects on human metabolism. They have a chemical structure typified by a nitrogen atom within a carbon ring, replacing one of the carbon atoms. Alkaloids also have a basic (or weak alkaline) reaction, hence their name.
It is conflating of your argument to attribute all alkaloids to the same properties as caffeine, when some, like those that are found within members of the Solanaceae (potatoes, etc), are highly toxic and even deadly, like atropine or belladonna. And we all know how sick green potatoes can make us very ill because of their high solanine content. This is a glycoalkaloid.
Ergotamine is a precursor to LSD, as was noted in the programme. The programme was well-researched and mostly very accurate.

[@jasmine3613]

"When ergot-containing rye crops were harvested and prepared for use in the kitchen, the ergots were also. This led to ergotism, ergot poisoning in humans and animals, because in addition to a dormant C. purpurea, the ergot also contains a plethora of poisonous fungal metabolites. These metabolites contain nitrogen atoms, designating them as alkaloids, and are produced from a 14-gene (68.6kb) ergot alkaloid synthesis (EAS) cluster on the C. purpurea genome. While the ecological role for alkaloid synthesis by C. purpurea isn’t clear, researchers have isolated over 40 alkaloids, some studies suggest that the alkaloids deter scavenging of the ergots by insects and are antimicrobials. Alkaloid production is heavily influenced by the soil composition where the rye is planted, leading to complex alkaloid cocktails in each ergot. As a result, the composition and concentration of alkaloids present within a crop of ergots vary both geographically and seasonally, which has implications for ergotism symptoms in humans."

[@MontyCantsin5]

@K C: Try watching the video again and making an effort to understand the science behind the claims made. The only thing silly here is your strange dismissal of the evidence presented.

[@analogueman123456787]

@@MontyCantsin5 - Bravo! Though you're wasting your time, as he's a classic 'armchair expert', of which there are countless on TH-cam.