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Did toxic wine kill Alexander the Great?

Scientists 'find plant behind ancient leader'sagonizing death over 12 days'

Alexander the Great died in 323 BC at the age of 32

His death has been a point of mystery, with numerous theories as to whatcaused itWhat is known is that he suffered for 12 days before dyingA new theory from the University of Otago in New Zealand claims his wine had

been spiked with a plant that, when fermented, is incredibly deadlyBy Daily Mail Reporter 

PUBLISHED: 03:15, 11 January 2014 | UPDATED: 14:59, 11 January 2014

 Alexander the Great built a legendary empire before his untimely - and mysterious - death at the age of  just 32 in 323 BC.

Some historians argued was death was due to natural causes, while others maintained he was secretlymurdered at a celebratory banquet.

Now, an Otago University scientist may have unraveled the case some 2000 years later.

National Poisons Centre toxicologist Dr Leo Schep thinks the culprit could be poisonous wine made froman innocuous-looking plant, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald.

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Death by wine? New findings, which are ten years in the m aking, sugges t that

Alexander the Great died from drinking wine that was tainted with a seemingly

innocuous plant called hellebore

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Pretty but deadly: Veratrum album, known as w hite hellebore, is a plant that, once

fermented properly, can be lethal

Dr Schep, who has been researching the toxicological evidence for a decade, said some of thepoisoning theories - including arsenic and strychnine - were not plausible.

Death would have come far too fast, he said.

His research, co-authored by Otago University classics expert Dr Pat Wheatley and published in themedical journal Clinical Toxicology, found the most plausible culprit was Veratrum album, known as whitehellebore.

The white-flowered plant, which can be fermented into a poisonous wine, was well-known to the Greeksas a herbal treatment for inducing vomiting.

Crucially, it could have accounted for the 12 torturous days that Alexander took to die, speechless andunable to walk.

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whitechapel, east end, United Kingdom, 23 minutes ago

Yawn yawn Vote ukip.

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PrivateSi, WORCS, 23 minutes ago

Silent Witness GONE MAD!

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UKIP, ex Tory, Amber Valley, 44 minutes ago

So we still don't know then! That was a was te of an afternoon for someone.

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ONSLOW1066, LONDON, United Kingdom, 56 minutes ago

Lets find the killer and hang him !!! Ok, OK, We will have to dig him up first. Just like what happened to O. Cromwell.

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Tigerpaw16, Pembroke, 1 hour ago

Who really cares how he died? He dead! And has been for dead s ince, 323 BC. And they spent 10 years and how many

million of dollars on this? For what reason? To prove he died a certain way! He dead! Get over it!

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Im, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1 hour ago

I accept that New Zealand is not the mos t lively spot on the planet but couldn't they at least have looked for something

relevant to them to research, like how long before human life there will die out after all the young have emigrated to work

in this country

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Tough As Nails, Wild Wild West, Germany, 1 hour ago

No, I did.

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ComteDeLaFere, Midwest, United States, 1 hour ago

He could have just been killed outright and Ptolemy made the whole s tory up. Then became the first pharoh

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 Alan, London, United Kingdom, 1 hour ago

No a Lightsaber did, who the hell knows.

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