Belladonna
Parts Usually Used
Leaves and flowers
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Atropa belladonna is a poisonous plant with reddish flowers and shining black berries. Source of various alkaloids, including atropine and scopolamine. Belladonna (beautiful lady) is an anticholinergic. This attractive plant with its thick stems or branches and leaves is somewhat similar to the tobacco plant. However, its axillary flowers, dull brown to dark purple in color, indicate that it is neither tobacco plant or ground-cherry (Chinese lantern).
The ripe, shiny black berries often entice children to pick and eat them, with fatal results. Plants can have good and bad characteristics, and this is the case with belladonna. It can kill people, but it is also a life saver. ), often thought of as the Deadly Nightshade, but should not be confused with Belladonna. The Solanum nigrum is the rarer of the many nightshade species.
Medicinal Properties
Antispasmodic, diuretic, narcotic, sedative
Biochemical Information
Various alkaloids, especially hyoscyamine and scopalamine
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized the plant for its sedative, anticholinergic, and spasmolytic effects, believing it acted on the gastrointestinal tract and suppressed smooth muscle activity. Traditional practitioners also administered it for complaints such as nervous congestion, kidney pains, and colitis. In ophthalmic practice, its constituent atropine was employed to dilate the pupils of the eyes.
How Sold
Belladonna in powder form from leaf and flowering top of Atropa belladonna Linne or A. belladonna acuminata. It is used generally in tincture form, though the dry extract in tablet form may be used.
Warning
If eaten, vomiting should be induced immediately. This herb is potentially fatal. Could cause death or other serious consequences. Its use is not recommended without professional medical guidance.
Bibliography
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F. A. Davis Company, 1915 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973