Hyoscyamus niger
Hyoscyamus niger | |
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Hyoscyamus niger in Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1887 | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Solanaceae |
Genus: | Hyoscyamus |
Species: | H. niger
|
Binomial name | |
Hyoscyamus niger |
Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger, also black henbane and stinking nightshade) is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae.[1][2] Henbane is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland.[3]
Historical use
The name henbane dates from AD 1265; "bane" meant death.[4] Other etymologies of henbane derive from the Indo-European stem bhelena meaning "crazy plant"[5] and with the Proto-Germanic element bil meaning "vision", "hallucination", "magical power", and "miraculous ability".[6]
Historically, henbane was used in combination with other plants, such as the
The plant, recorded as Herba Apollinaris, was used to yield oracles by the priestesses of Apollo.[2] Recently evidence for its use in the earlier British Neolithic has been debated.[13] John Gerard's Herball states: "The leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness, which continueth long and is deadly to the patient. To wash the feet in a decoction of Henbane, as also the often smelling of the flowers causeth sleep."[12]
The plant was also purportedly used as a fumigant for magical purposes.
Henbane was discovered among an assortment of imported spices during the underwater archaeological excavation of the royal Danish-Norwegian flagship, Gribshunden, which sank in 1495 near Ronneby, Sweden. The purpose of this henbane is not known: but could have been medicinal for soothing toothache, or as an anti-emetic and to prevent motion sickness.[15]
During a Pomeranian witchcraft trial in 1538, a suspected witch "confessed" that she had given a man henbane seeds so that he would run around "crazy" (sexually aroused). In a file from an Inquisition trial, it was noted that "a witch admits" having once strewn henbane seeds between two lovers and uttering the following formula: "Here I sow wild seed, and the devil advised that they would hate and avoid each other until these seeds had been separated" (Marzell 1922, 169).[14]
Henbane was one of the ingredients in gruit, traditionally used in beers as a flavouring. Several cities, most notably Pilsen, were named after its German name "Bilsenkraut" in the context of its production for beer flavouring.[16] The recipe for henbane beer includes 40 g dried chopped henbane herbage, 5 g bayberry, 23 L water, 1 L brewing malt, 900 g honey, 5 g dried yeast, and brown sugar.[14] Henbane fell out of usage for beer when it was replaced by hops in the 11th to 16th centuries, as the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 outlawed ingredients other than barley, hops, yeast, and water.[17]
Henbane is sometimes identified with the "hebenon" poured into the ear of Hamlet's father,[7][18] although other candidates for hebenon exist.[19]
Theories
Henbane seeds have been found in a
Cultivation and use
Henbane originated in Eurasia, and is now globally distributed[2] as a plant grown mainly for pharmaceutical purposes. Henbane is rare in northern Europe; its cultivation for medicinal use is spread and legal in central and eastern Europe and in India.[14]
Henbane is used in traditional herbal medicine for ailments of the bones, rheumatism, toothache, asthma, cough, nervous diseases, and stomach pain. It might also be used as analgesic, sedative, and narcotic in some cultures.[23] Adhesive bandages with henbane extract behind the ear are reported to prevent discomfort in travel-sick people.[medical citation needed] Henbane oil is used for medicinal massage.[24]
Henbane material in most Western countries can be bought in pharmacies with a prescription only. Sales of henbane oil are not legally regulated and are allowed in shops other than pharmacies in the US.[14]
Henbane has travelled through the company of Romani people.[25]
Preparation, dosage, toxicity
Henbane leaves and herbage without roots are chopped and dried and are then used for medicinal purposes or in incense and smoking blends, in making beer and tea, and in seasoning wine. Henbane leaves are boiled in oil to derive henbane oil. Henbane seeds are an ingredient in incense blends.[14] In all preparations, the dosage has to be carefully estimated due to the high toxicity of henbane. For some therapeutic applications, dosages like 0.5 g and 1.5– 3 g were used. The lethal dosage is not known.[24]
Henbane is toxic to cattle, wild animals, fish, and birds.[14] Not all animals are susceptible; for example, the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including cabbage moths, eat henbane. Pigs are immune to henbane toxicity and are reported to enjoy the effects of the plant.[14]
Psychoactive material
Its psychoactive and pharmacological effects are a result of these alkaloids exerting an
Effects
Henbane ingestion by humans is followed simultaneously by peripheral inhibition and central stimulation.
In his book How Do Witches Fly?, Alexander Kuklin refers to an experience of black henbane had by German scientist Michael Schenck.[28] Schenck recollected his experience:
The henbane's first effect was purely physical discomfort. My limbs lost certainty, pains hammered in my head, and I began to feel extremely giddy....I went to the mirror and was able to distinguish my face, but more dimly than normal. It looked flushed and must have been so. I had the feeling that my head had increased in size: it seemed to have grown broader, more solid, heavier, and I imagined that it was enveloped in firmer, thicker skin. The mirror itself seemed to be swaying, and I found it difficult to keep my face within its frame. The black discs of my pupils were immensely enlarged, as though the whole iris, which was normally blue, had become black. Despite of' the dilation of my pupils I could see no better than usual; quite the contrary, the outlines of objects were hazy, the window and the window frame were obscured by a thin mist.
Schenck's pulse became rapid and he experienced a further increase in the hallucinogenic effects of the plant:
There were animals which looked at me keenly with contorted grimaces and staring, terrified eyes; there were terrifying stones and clouds of mist, all sweeping along in the same direction. They carried me irresistibly with them. Their coloring must be described - but it was not a pure hue. They enveloped in a vague gray light, which emitted a dull glow and rolled onward and upward into a black and smoky sky. I was flung into a flaring drunkenness, a witches' cauldron of madness. Above my head water was flowing, dark and blood-red. The sky was filled with herds of animals. Fluid, formless creatures emerged from the darkness. I heard words, but they were all wrong and nonsensical, and yet they possessed for me some hidden meaning.[28]
Misidentification
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson accidentally recommended henbane as a "tasty addition to salads" in the August 2008 issue of Healthy and Organic Living magazine. The publication promptly warned subscribers against consuming the "very toxic" plant upon discovery of the error, and Thompson admitted to confusing it with fat hen, a member of the spinach family.[34]
Gallery
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Large flowering henbane
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Henbane in flower
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Close-up of flower
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Henbane fruits
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Henbane seeds
References
- ^ LCCN 2013031617.
- ^ a b c d e f g Roberts & Wink 1998, p. 31
- ^ "Hyoscyamus niger | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora". Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
- ISBN 978-0-8166-5272-3.
- ^ Hoops, J. (1973). Bilsenkraut. Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde. pp. 1:284.
- ^ de Vries, H. (1993). Heilige bäume, bilsenkraut und bildzeitung. In Naturverehrung und Heilkunst, ed. C. Raetsch: Suedergellersen, Germany: Verlag Bruno Martin. pp. 65–83.
- ^ PMID 12612119.
- PMID 8991015.
- ^ S2CID 220844064.
- ^ Schultes & Smith 1976, p. 22
- ISBN 978-0-300-11982-4, p229 footnote 10]
- ^ a b Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1.
- ^ Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger L.) in the Scottish Neolithic, Journal of Archaeological Science (1999) 26, 45–52
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Raetsch, Ch. (2005). The encyclopedia of psychoactive plants: ethnopharmacology and its applications. US: Park Street Press. pp. 277–282.
- PMID 36701280.
- ^ Christian Rätsch (2015-07-29). "Urbock oder echtes Bier" (in German). Retrieved 2015-08-26.
Diese ehemaligen Anpflanzungen leben in verschiedenen Ortbezeichnungen bis heute fort, z.B. Bilsensee, Billendorf, Bilsengarten und vor allem im böhmischen Pilsen. So hat die Stadt, nach der unser modernes, stark gehopftes Bier »Pilsner« heißt, seinen Namen selbst vom Bilsenkraut, das dem echten »Pilsener Bier«, nämlich dem Bilsenkraut-Bier seinen Namen verlieh! In der Schweiz lebt der alte Name pilsener krut in der Bezeichnung Pilsenkraut bis heute fort.
- ISBN 978-1-57958-078-0.
- ^ "Hebenon". Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828). Archived from the original on 2009-07-24.
- ISBN 978-0-8166-5272-3.
- )
- ^ Pentz, Peter; Baastrup Panum, Maria; Karg, Sabine; Mannering, Ulla (2009). "Kong Haralds vølve". Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark: 215–232 – via researchgate.net.
Da graven og gravpladsen blev beskrevet første gang (1977)....
- S2CID 199548329.
- ^ Alizadeh A, Moshiri M, Alizadeh J, Balali-Mood M. Black henbane and its toxicity - a descriptive review. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2014 Sep;4(5):297-311. PMID 25386392; PMCID: PMC4224707.
- ^ a b c Lindequist, U. (1993). Hyoscyamus. In Haegers Handbuch der pharmazeutischen Praxis, 5th ed., 5.: Berlin: Springer. pp. 460–74.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ISBN 978-0-8493-0031-8.
- ^ S2CID 52824516. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Duncan, D. F., and Gold, R. S. (1982). Drugs and the Whole Person. New York: John Wiley & Sons
- ^ ISBN 0-9664027-0-7.
- ^ "Datura Items". Lycaeum.org. Archived from the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ "Study suggests link between long-term use of anticholinergics and dementia risk". Alzheimer's Society. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Rätsch, Christian, The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications pub. Park Street Press 2005
- ^ ISBN 978-0913300473
- ^ Sollmann, Torald (1957). A Manual of Pharmacology and Its Applications to Therapeutics and Toxicology (8th ed.). Philadelphia and London: W.B. Saunders.
- ^ Dawar, Anil (August 4, 2008). "TV chef Worrall Thompson recommends deadly weed as salad ingredient". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- General
- Roberts, Margaret F.; Wink, Michael (1998). Alkaloids: biochemistry, ecology, and medicinal applications. Springer. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-306-45465-3. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- "Henbane". Clinicalmind.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-18.