Atropa belladonna
Atropa belladonna | |
---|---|
Illustration from Köhler's Medicinal Plants 1887 | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Solanaceae |
Genus: | Atropa |
Species: | A. belladonna
|
Binomial name | |
Atropa belladonna |
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic
The foliage and
Atropa belladonna has unpredictable effects.[2] The antidote for belladonna poisoning is physostigmine or pilocarpine, the same as for atropine.[7]
The potentially deadly ripe fruit of Atropa belladonna can be distinguished from the similar Solanum nigrum by its larger berry size, its much larger calyx than S. nigrum that extends wider than the fruit (either encasing it or extending flat), and that A. belladonna has singular berries, whilst S. nigrum grows as a cluster of berries located on a descending stem, similar to tomatoes. Solanum nigrum has other potentially toxic look alikes and should be confidently identified before attempts at foraging.
History
Atropa belladonna has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison.[8][3][9] Known originally under various folk names (such as "deadly nightshade" in English), the plant was named Atropa belladonna by Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) when he devised his classification system. Linnaeus chose the genus name Atropa because of the poisonous properties of these plants. Atropos (lit. "unturning one"), one of the Three Fates in Greek mythology, is said to have cut a person's thread of life after her sisters had spun and measured it. Linnaeus chose the species name belladonna ("beautiful woman" in Italian) in reference to [dubious ] the cosmetic use of the plant during the Renaissance, when women were believed to have used the juice of the berries in eyedrops intended to dilate the pupils and make the eyes appear more seductive.[10][3][11][12]
Extracts of
The use of deadly nightshades as a poison was known in ancient Rome, as attested by the rumour that the Roman empress Livia Drusilla used the juice of Atropa belladonna berries to murder her husband, the emperor Augustus.[13]
In the first century AD,
The modern pharmacological study of Atropa belladonna extracts was begun by the German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1795–1867). In 1831, the German pharmacist Heinrich F. G. Mein (1799–1864)[15] succeeded in preparing a pure crystalline form of the active substance, named atropine.[16] [17]
Description
Atropa belladonna is a branching
A. belladonna is sometimes confused with the much less poisonous black nightshade, Solanum nigrum, belonging to a different genus within Solanaceae.[19] A comparison of the fruit shows that black nightshade berries are spherical, have a dull lustre and grow in clusters, whereas the berries of deadly nightshade are much glossier, twice as large, somewhat flattened and are borne singly. Another distinction is that black nightshade flowers are not tubular but white and star-shaped, bearing a central cone of yellow anthers.
Distribution
Atropa belladonna is native to temperate southern, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus, but has been cultivated and introduced outside its native range. In southern Sweden it was recorded in Flora of Skåne in 1870 as grown in apothecary gardens near Malmö.[20]
In Britain it is native only on calcareous soils, on disturbed ground, field margins, hedgerows and open woodland. More widespread as an alien, it is often a relic of cultivation as a medicinal herb. Seed is spread mainly by birds.[21]
It is naturalised in parts of North America and North Africa, where it is often found in shady, moist locations with limestone-rich soils. It is considered a weed species in parts of the world,[22] where it colonizes areas with disturbed soils.[23]
Cultivation
Atropa belladonna is rarely used in gardens, but, when grown, it is usually for its large upright habit and showy berries.[24] Germination of the small seeds is often difficult, due to hard seed coats that cause seed dormancy. Germination takes several weeks under alternating temperature conditions, but can be sped up with the use of gibberellic acid.[25] The seedlings need sterile soil to prevent damping off and resent root disturbance during transplanting.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
Atropa belladonna is in the
Etymology
The name Atropa belladonna was published by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[28] Atropa is derived from the name of the Greek goddess Atropos ('she who may not be turned aside' i.e. 'the inflexible' or 'the implacable')—one of the three Greek fates or destinies who would determine the course of a man's life by the weaving of threads that symbolized his birth, the events in his life, and finally his death, with Atropos cutting these threads to mark the last of these.[29][30] The name "belladonna" comes from the two words bella and donna in the Italian language, meaning 'beautiful' and 'woman', respectively,[26] originating either from its usage as a cosmetic to beautify pallid skin,[31] or more probably, from its usage to increase the pupil size in women.[29][30]
Toxicity
Belladonna is one of the most
The active agents in belladonna,
Atropa belladonna is also toxic to many domestic animals, causing narcosis and paralysis.[45] However, cattle and rabbits eat the plant seemingly without suffering harmful effects.[42] In humans, its anticholinergic properties will cause the disruption of cognitive capacities, such as memory and learning.[40]
Legal status
Belladonna cultivation is legal in Southern and Eastern Europe, Pakistan, North America, and Brazil.[36] Belladonna leaves and roots can be bought with a medical prescription in pharmacies throughout Germany.[46] In the United States, there is only one approved prescription drug containing belladonna alkaloids such as atropine, and the FDA regards any over-the-counter products claiming efficacy and safety as an anticholinergic drug, to be illegal.[47]
Uses
Cosmetics
The common name belladonna originates from its historic use by women, as bella donna is
Dietary supplements
In the United States, belladonna is marketed as a
Medicinal uses
The Towns-Lambert or Bella Donna Cure was a regimen for treating alcohol use disorder in the early 20th century.[52]
Alternative medicine and toxicity risk
Belladonna has been used in herbal medicine for centuries as a pain reliever, muscle relaxer, and anti-inflammatory, and to treat menstrual problems, peptic ulcer disease, histaminic reaction, and motion sickness.[2][3][53][54][9]
At least one 19th-century
In 2010 and 2016, the US
Recreational drug
Atropa belladonna and related plants, such as
Poison
The tropane alkaloids of A. belladonna were used as poisons, and early humans made poisonous arrows from the plant.[66][9] In Ancient Rome, it was used as a poison by Agrippina the Younger, wife of Emperor Claudius, on the advice of Locusta, a woman who specialized in poisons, and Livia, who is rumored to have used it to kill her husband Emperor Augustus.[66][67]
The Scots used it during a truce to poison the troops of the invading Harold Harefoot, King of England, to the point that the English troops were unable to stand their ground and had to retreat to their ships.[30][9]
Medical historians also suspect that Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, was poisoned using a combination of Atropa belladonna and laudanum.[68]
Folklore
Flying ointment
In the past, witches were believed to use a mixture of belladonna,
Female attractiveness
Among the ancient folk traditions of the
Gallery
-
Specimen with abundant flowers and green, immature berries
-
Single flower, showing long pedicel springing from leaf axil.
-
Atropa belladonna L. Corolla and calyx of single flower in profile.
-
Atropa belladonna L. Single flower angled to show both exterior and interior.
-
Atropa belladonna L. Single flower, full face, showing reticulated corolla base and insertion of (characteristically curled) stamens, and pistil.
-
Single flower, three-quarter face, showing fine detail of puberulent stigma
-
Atropa belladonna L. single flower back-lit by bright sunlight to reveal purple reticulation of yellowish-green corolla tube.
-
Back-lit corolla, showing contrast between pubescent, ribbed exterior and more glabrous interior
-
Cross-section of corolla, showing ripe anthers with flocculent, cream pollen
-
Atropa belladonna L. Reverse of fruiting calyx, showing concave backs of calyx lobes with dirt from air pollution coating sticky trichomes.
-
The translucent yellow berries of Atropa belladonna lutea.
See also
- List of poisonous plants
- List of plants poisonous to equines
- Donnatal, a pharmaceutical containing the active alkaloids in belladonna: scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, as a medication.
Notes
- ^ Fresh weight percentages. Dry weight percentages would cut these figures roughly in half.
References
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- ^ Atropine was also independently isolated in 1833 by Geiger and Hesse:
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- Geiger; Hesse (1833). "Fortgesetzte Versuche über Atropin" [Continued experiments on atropine]. Annalen der Pharmacie (in German). Vol. 6. pp. 44–65. Archived from the original on 2023-01-12. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
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Solanaceae Atropa belladonna L. Species Plantarum 2 1753 "Habitat in Austriae, Angliae montibus sylvosis."
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the antidote for belladonna is physostigmine or pilocarpine the same as for atropine.
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poisons used by the wife of Claudius.
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External links
- "Compounds in deadly nightshade". Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Beltsville, Maryland: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory; USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Archived from the original on 2004-11-10. Retrieved 2005-07-28.