Deadly Nightshade

Appearance

''Atropa belladonna'' is a branching herbaceous perennial rhizomatous hemicryptophyte, often growing as a subshrub from a fleshy rootstock. Plants grow to 2 m tall with ovate leaves 18 cm long. The bell-shaped flowers are dull purple with green tinges and faintly scented. The fruits are berries, which are green, ripening to a shiny black, and approximately 1.5 cm in diameter. The berries are sweet and are consumed by animals that disperse the seeds in their droppings, even though they contain toxic alkaloids. There is a pale-yellow flowering form called ''Atropa belladonna'' var. ''lutea'' with pale yellow fruit.

''A. belladonna'' is sometimes confused with the much less poisonous black nightshade, ''Solanum nigrum'', belonging to a different genus within Solanaceae. A comparison of the fruit shows that the black nightshade berries grow in bunches, whereas the deadly nightshade berries grow individually. Another distinction is black nightshade flowers have white petals.

Naming

The name ''Atropa belladonna'' was published by Carl Linnaeus in ''Species Plantarum'' in 1753. ''Atropa'' is derived from the name of the Greek goddess Atropos —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. The name "belladonna" comes from the Italian language, meaning 'beautiful lady'; originating either from its usage as a cosmetic to beautify pallid skin, or more probably, from its usage to increase the pupil size in women.

Distribution

''Atropa belladonna'' is native to temperate southern, Central and Eastern Europe; North Africa, 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.

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.

It is naturalized in parts of North America, where it is often found in shady, moist locations with limestone-rich soils. It is considered a weed species in parts of the world, where it colonizes areas with disturbed soils.

Status

Belladonna cultivation is legal in Southern and Eastern Europe, Pakistan, North America, and Brazil. Belladonna leaves and roots can be bought with a medical prescription in pharmacies throughout Germany. 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.

Food

In the United States, belladonna is marketed as a dietary supplement, typically as an atropine ingredient in over-the-counter cold medicine products. Although such cold medicine products are probably safe for oral use at typical atropine dosages , there is inadequate scientific evidence to assure their effectiveness. By FDA guidelines for supplements, there are no regulated manufacturing standards for cold medicines containing atropine, with some belladona supplements found to contain contaminants.

Defense

Belladonna is one of the most toxic plants known, and its use by mouth increases risk in numerous clinical conditions, such as complications of pregnancy, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and psychiatric disorders, among others. All parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids. Roots have up to 1.3%, leaves 1.2%, stalks 0.65%, flowers 0.6%, ripe berries 0.7%, and seeds 0.4% tropane alkaloids; leaves reach maximal alkaloid content when the plant is budding and flowering, roots are most poisonous in the end of the plant's vegetation period. Belladonna nectar is transformed by bees into honey that also contains tropane alkaloids. The berries pose the greatest danger to children because they look attractive and have a somewhat sweet taste. The root of the plant is generally the most toxic part, though this can vary from one specimen to another.

The active agents in belladonna, atropine, hyoscine , and hyoscyamine, have anticholinergic properties. The symptoms of belladonna poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. In 2009, ''A. belladonna'' berries were mistaken for blueberries by an adult woman; the six berries she ate were documented to result in severe anticholinergic syndrome. 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 an anticholinesterase or a cholinomimetic , the same as for atropine.

''Atropa belladonna'' is also toxic to many domestic animals, causing narcosis and paralysis. However, cattle and rabbits eat the plant seemingly without suffering harmful effects. In humans, its anticholinergic properties will cause the disruption of cognitive capacities, such as memory and learning.

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.

At least one 19th-century eclectic medicine journal explained how to prepare a belladonna tincture for direct administration. In homeopathic practices, belladonna was prescribed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann as a topical medication for inflammation and pain. In the form of Doktor Koster's Antigaspills, belladonna was a homeopathic medication for upset stomach and excessive flatulence. There is insufficient scientific evidence justifying the use of belladonna for these or any other clinical disorders.

In 2010 and 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration warned consumers against the use of homeopathic teething tablets and gels containing belladonna as used for infants and children, stating that the products may be toxic, causing "seizures, difficulty breathing, lethargy, excessive sleepiness, muscle weakness, skin flushing, constipation, difficulty urinating, or agitation".

Evolution

''Atropa belladonna'' has a long history of use as a medicine, cosmetic, and poison. Known originally under various folk names , the plant was baptized ''Atropa belladonna'' by Carl Linnaeus when he devised his classification system. Linnaeus chose the genus name ''Atropa'' because of the poisonous properties of these plants. Atropos , 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'' in reference to the cosmetic use of the plant during the Renaissance, when women used the juice of the berries in eyedrops intended to dilate the pupils and make the eyes appear more seductive.

Extracts of plants in the deadly nightshade family have been in use since at least the 4th century BC, when ''Mandragora'' was recommended by Theophrastus for treatment of wounds, gout, and sleeplessness, and as a love potion. In the first century BC, Cleopatra used Atropine-rich extracts from the Egyptian henbane plant for the above-mentioned purpose of dilating the pupils of her eyes.

The use of deadly nightshades as a poison was known in ancient Rome, as attested by the rumor that the Roman empress Livia Drusilla used the juice of ''Atropa belladonna'' berries to murder her husband, the emperor Augustus.

In the first century A.D. Dioscorides recognized wine of mandrake as an anaesthetic for treatment of pain or sleeplessness, to be given prior to surgery or cautery.
The use of nightshade preparations for anesthesia, often in combination with opium, persisted throughout the Roman and Islamic Empires and continued in Europe until superseded in the 19th century by modern anesthetics.

The modern pharmacological study of ''Atropa belladonna'' extracts was begun by the German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge . In 1831, the German pharmacist Heinrich F. G. Mein succeeded in preparing a pure crystalline form of the active substance, baptized ''atropine''.

Uses

Scientific evidence to recommend the use of ''A. belladonna'' in its natural form for any condition is insufficient, although some of its components, in particular ''l''-atropine, which was purified from belladonna in the 1830s, have accepted medical uses. Donnatal is a prescription pharmaceutical, that combines natural belladonna alkaloids in a specific, fixed ratio with phenobarbital to provide peripheral anticholinergic or antispasmodic action and mild sedation. Donnatal contains 0.0194 mg of atropine. According to the FDA and Donnatal labeling, it is ''possibly effective'' for use as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and acute enterocolitis. Donnatal is not approved by the FDA as being either safe or effective. According to the FDA, Donnatal use has significant risks: it can cause harm to a fetus if administered to a pregnant woman, can lead to heat prostration if used in hot climates, may cause constipation, and may produce drowsiness or blurred vision.