COLCHICINE

drug used to treat the pain, swelling, and inflammation caused by acute gout. It is also used as a preventative against such attacks and against acute attacks of familial Mediterranean fever. The drug is obtained from the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) and other plants. The mechanism by which colchicine relieves the pain of gout remains unknown. Because it disrupts normal cell division (mitosis) in plants and animals, colchicine is also used in botanical, cellular, and genetic research. Colchicine is capable of stopping mitotic cell division at the stage when the chromosomes have divided and are fully formed but have not yet pulled apart to form two separate nuclei. The cell's chromosomes thus remain double in number, a phenomenon that has been used by plant breeders to create new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.