Atropa belladonna Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the

family Solanaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. The foliage and berries are extremely to xic, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include scopolamine and hyoscyam ine which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations,[1] and are also used as p harmaceutical anticholinergics. The drug atropine is derived from the plant. It has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Before the Mid dle Ages, it was used as an anesthetic for surgery; the ancient Romans used it a s a poison (the wife of Emperor Augustus and the wife of Claudius both were rumo red to have used it to murder contemporaries); and predating this, it was used t o make poison-tipped arrows. The genus name "atropa" comes from Atropos, one of the three Fates in Greek mythology, and the name "bella donna" is derived from I talian and means "beautiful woman" because the herb was used in eye-drops by wom en to dilate the pupils of the eyes to make them appear seductive.[2][3] Atropa belladonna is a branching herbaceous perennial, often growing as a subshr ub, from a fleshy rootstock. Plants grow to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) tall with 18 cen timetres (7.1 in) long ovate leaves. The bell-shaped flowers are tyrian purple w ith green tinges and faintly scented. The fruits are berries, which are green ri pening to a shiny black, and approximately 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter. T he berries are sweet and are consumed by animals (see Toxicity) that disperse th e seeds in their droppings, even though the seeds contain toxic alkaloids.[4] Th ere is a pale yellow flowering form called Atropa belladonna var. lutea with pal e yellow fruit. Atropa belladona is rarely used in gardens, but when grown, it is usually for it s large upright habit and showy berries.[5] It is naturalized in parts of North America, where it is often found in shady, moist locations with limestone-rich s oils. It is considered a weed species in parts of the world,[6] where it coloniz es areas with disturbed soils.[7] Germination of the small seeds is often diffic ult, 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.[8] The seedlings need sterile soil to prevent damping off a nd resent root disturbance during transplanting.This plant is a sign of water ne ar by. Naming and taxonomy The name Atropa belladonna was published by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 175 3.[9] It is in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which it shares with potatoes , tomatoes, eggplants, jimsonweed, tobacco, wolfberry, and chili peppers. The co mmon names for this species include belladonna, deadly nightshade, divale, dwale ,[10] banewort, devil's berries, naughty man's cherries, death cherries, beautif ul death, devil's herb, great morel, and dwayberry.[11] The name Atropa is thought to be derived from that of the Greek goddess Atropos, one of the three Greek fates or destinies who would determine the course of a m an'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.[12][13] The name "belladonna" comes from the Italian language, meanin g "beautiful lady";[10] originating either from its usage as cosmetic for the fa ce, or, more probably, from its usage to increase the pupil size in women.[12][1 3] Toxicity Flowers of belladonna

Belladonna is one of the most toxic plants found in the Eastern Hemisphere.[14] All parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids.[15] The berries pose the great est danger to children because they look attractive and have a somewhat sweet ta ste.[11] The consumption of two to five berries by a human adult is probably let hal.[16][17] The root of the plant is generally the most toxic part, though this can vary from one specimen to another.[18] Ingestion of a single leaf of the pl ant can be fatal to an adult.[11][15] The active agents in belladonna, atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyami ne, have anticholinergic properties.[19][20] The symptoms of belladonna poisonin g include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, los s of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throa t, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, d elirium, and convulsions.[19][21][22] In 2009, A. belladonna berries were mistak en for blueberries by an adult woman; the six berries she ate were documented to result in severe anticholinergic syndrome.[23] The plant's deadly symptoms are caused by atropine's disruption of the parasympathetic nervous system's ability to regulate involuntary activities, such as sweating, breathing, and heart rate. The antidote for belladonna poisoning is physostigmine or pilocarpine, the same as for atropine.[24] Atropa belladonna is also toxic to many domestic animals, causing narcosis and p aralysis.[25] However, cattle and rabbits eat the plant seemingly without suffer ing harmful effects.[22] In humans, its anticholinergic properties will cause th e disruption of cognitive capacities, such as memory and learning.[20] Uses Cosmetics The common name belladonna originates from its historic use by women - Bella Don na is Italian for beautiful lady. Drops prepared from the belladonna plant were used to dilate women's pupils, an effect considered attractive.[2][3] Belladonna drops act as an antimuscarinic, blocking receptors in the muscles of the eye th at constrict pupil size.[26] Belladonna is currently rarely used cosmetically, a s it carries the adverse effects of causing minor visual distortions, inability to focus on near objects, and increased heart rate. Prolonged usage was reputed to cause blindness.[27] Medicinal uses Belladonna has been used in herbal medicine scle relaxer, and anti-inflammatory, and to er disease, histaminic reaction, and motion century eclectic medicine journal explained for direct administration to patients.[29] for centuries as a pain reliever, mu treat menstrual problems, peptic ulc sickness.[19][28] At least one 19thhow to prepare a belladona tincture

Belladonna tinctures, decoctions, and powders, as well as alkaloid salt mixtures , are still produced for pharmaceutical use, and these are often standardised at 1037 parts hyoscyamine to 194 parts atropine and 65 parts scopolamine. The alka loids are compounded with phenobarbital and/or kaolin and pectin for use in vari ous functional gastrointestinal disorders. The tincture, used for identical purp oses, remains in most pharmacopoeias, with a similar tincture of Datura stramoni um having been in the US Pharmacopoeia at least until the late 1930s. The combin ation of belladonna and opium, in powder, tincture, or alkaloid form, is particu larly useful by mouth or as a suppository for diarrhoea and some forms of viscer al pain; it can be made by a compounding pharmacist, and may be available as a m anufactured fixed combination product in some countries (e.g., B&O Supprettes). A banana-flavoured liquid (most common trade name: Donnagel PG) was available un til 31 December 1992 in the United States. Scopolamine is used as the hydrobromide salt for GI complaints, motion sickness,

and to potentiate the analgesic and anxiolytic effects of opioid analgesics. It was formerly used in a painkiller called "twilight sleep" in childbirth.[30] Atropine sulphate is used as a mydriatic and cycloplegic for eye examinations. I t is also used as an antidote to organophosphate and carbamate poisoning, and is loaded in an autoinjector for use in case of a nerve gas attack. Atropinisation (administration of a sufficient dose to block nerve gas effects) results in 100 per cent blockade of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and atropine sulpha te is the benchmark for measuring the power of anticholinergic drugs. Hyoscyamine is used as the sulphate or hydrobromide for GI problems and Parkinso n's disease. Its side effect profile is intermediate to those of atropine and sc opolamine, and can also be used to combat the toxic effects of organophosphates. Scientific evidence to recommend the use of A. belladonna in its natural form fo r any condition is insuffiicient,[19] although some of its components, in partic ular l-atropine which was purified from belladona in the 1830s, have accepted me dical uses.[22] Donnatal is a prescription pharmaceutical, approved in the Unite d States by the FDA, that combines natural belladonna alkaloids in a specific, f ixed ratio with phenobarbital to provide peripheral anticholinergic/antispasmodi c action and mild sedation. According to its labeling, it is possibly effective for use as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (irri table colon, spastic colon, mucous colitis) and acute enterocolitis.[31] Pseudo-medicinal use Belladonna preparations are used in homeopathy as treatments for various conditi ons, although no scientific evidence supports their efficacy.[32][33] Clinically and in research trials, the most common preparation is diluted to the 30C level in homeopathic notation. This level of dilution does not contain any of the ori ginal plant,[33] although preparations with lesser dilutions which statistically contain trace amounts of the plant are advertised for sale.[34] Recreational drug Atropa belladonna and related plants, such as jimson weed (Datura stramonium), h ave occasionally been used as recreational drugs because of the vivid hallucinat ions and delirium they produce. However, these hallucinations are most commonly described as very unpleasant, and recreational use is considered extremely dange rous because of the high risk of unintentional fatal overdose.[35][36][37] In ad dition, the central nervous system effects of atropine include memory disruption , which may lead to severe confusion.[38] Poison The tropane alkaloids of A. belladonna were used as poisons, and early humans ma de poisonous arrows from the plant.[39] In Ancient Rome, it was used as a poison by Agrippina the Younger, wife of Emperor Claudius on advice of Locusta, a lady specialized in poisons, and Livia, who is rumored to have used it to kill her h usband Emperor Augustus.[39][40] Macbeth of Scotland, when he was still one of the lieutenants of King Duncan I o f Scotland, used it during a truce to poison the troops of the invading Harold H arefoot, King of England, to the point that the English troops were unable to st and their ground and had to retreat to their ships.[13] Folklore Leaves of belladonna In the past, witches were believed to have used a mixture of belladonna, opium p oppy, and other plants, typically poisonous (such as monkshood and poison hemloc k) in flying ointment, which they applied to help them fly to gatherings with ot her witches. Carlo Ginzburg and others have argued that flying ointments were pr

eparations meant to encourage hallucinatory dreaming; a possible explanation for the inclusion of belladonna and opium poppy in flying ointments concerns the kn own antagonism between tropane alkaloids of belladonna (specifically scopolamine ) and opiate alkaloids in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum (specifically morp hine), which produces a dream-like waking state. This antagonism was known in fo lk medicine, discussed in eclectic (botanical) medicine formularies,[41] and pos ited as the explanation of how flying ointments might have actually worked in co ntemporary writing on witchcraft.[42] The antagonism between opiates and tropane s is the original basis of the Twilight Sleep that was provided to Queen Victori a to deaden pain as well as consciousness during childbirth, and which was later modified so isolated alkaloids were used instead of plant materials. The bellad onna herb was also notable for its unpredictable effects from toxicity.[43][44]