Keywords
Parts Used---
Fresh leaves, flowering tops and branches, seeds.
Habitat : It is found throughout
Central and Southern Europe and in Western Asia, extending to Kashmir
and Siberia. As a weed of cultivation it now grows also in North America
and Brazil.
Henbane is an annual to biennial with distinguishing hairy, toothed
leaves and greenish to yellowish flowers with dark purple veins that
almost appear black. Originally from Eurasia, it is now found
throughout the world and is most commonly grown as an ornamental or
landscaping plant. Henbane, like several other nightshades, has a long
history of use as a medicinal and a poison, and it is still grown
commercially for medicinal use in some parts of the world. Like its
cousins, belladonna and datura, henbane was a common ingredient in
witches’ brews. Containing the toxic alkaloids hyoscyamine and
scopolamine, henbane was used as a poison at least since the Middle
Ages. This type of poisoning, which can take place even after ingesting
a small amount of plant or seed matter, can have symptoms such as
increased salivation, headache, nausea, convulsions, hallucinations,
stupor, coma and death. Ironically, henbane was once used as a
flavoring in German pilsner beers until the German government stepped in
and banned it as an ingredient. Henbane use has also been documented
in a variety of other cultures including the Arabs, Ancient Greeks and
in Tibetan medicine. It was also used as an admixture to the
hallucinogenic brews of certain South American Indians. As a medicinal,
it has mild pain relieving abilities, antispasmodic activity and causes
pupil dilation. Based on such actions, it has been reportedly used for
a list of conditions including toothaches, epilepsy, cough, asthma, and
Parkinson’s Disease. One source also reports that placing the dried
leaves around a house will help drive away mice.
Chemical Constituents : Hyoscyamus contains 0.045 to 0.15%alkaloids, mainly hyoscyamine and traces of
hyoscine.
Hyoscyamine or atropine is an ester of tropic acid and tropine.
Alkaloids are present mainly in the mid-rib and petiole but absent in
stems, Hyoscyamus originally contains optically active laevorotatory
alkaloid l-hyoscyamine. Optically active alkaloids possess greater
medicinal activity than their corresponding optically inactive isomers.
During extraction from the plant because of the action of heat or
chemical agents like acid or alkali optical activity of hyoscyamine is
lost and the corresponding optically inactive racemic atropine is
obtained.
Atropine is an
isomer of hyoscyamine and consists of equal parts of
l-hyoscyamine and
d.hyoscyamine. Atropine possesses lesser activity than
hyoscyamine.
Parts available : Whole plant, Seed, Leaves
JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre
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