Belladonna

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Instructions for use:

1. Chemical composition
2. Useful properties
3. Indications for use
4. Contraindications
5. Home remedies

Belladonna is a poisonous medicinal plant containing alkaloids of the atropine group.

Chemical composition

Belladonna is a perennial herb belonging to the Krasavka genus of the Solanaceae family. She is also called Krasavka ordinary, Krasukha, Sleepy stupor, Crazy berry.

Belladonna is common in North Africa, Europe, Asia, as well as in the Crimea and the Caucasus. She prefers sparse beech, oak, fir and hornbeam forests.

The plant:

Thick branched stems of green or dark purple color, reaching a height of two meters;
Rhizomes with numerous large branched roots;
Broad-lanceolate, petiolate oblong-ovate leaves;
Small, single, five-membered flowers of a dirty purple or yellow color.

Belladonna blooms from late spring to late autumn. Fruits in the form of shiny black berries, reminiscent of medium-sized cherries, begin to ripen in late July.

All parts of belladonna are poisonous and contain alkaloids of the atropine group in varying proportions. Most of them are in the roots and leaves (1.2-1.3%) and up to 1% are found in stems, flowers and ripe fruits. In addition to atropine, belladonna also contains hyoscine (scopolamine) and hyoscyamine. The aerial part of the plant contains oxycoumarins, flavonoids, ash and some macro- and microelements: potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium.

Leaves, grass and plant roots are used as medicinal raw materials, which are mainly harvested from plantations, while the leaves are harvested in early summer (in the flowering phase), the grass a little later (in the fruiting phase).

Beneficial features

Early sources mention belladonna as a source of poison. However, the plant was also used for treatment: internally - for diseases of the stomach and liver, externally - in the presence of ulcers and tumors.

Belladonna's properties have been known almost from the very foundation of homeopathy. The plant is indicated for the treatment of almost any inflammatory process, including brain inflammation. It is also included in Zelenin drops and many other combination drugs.

When studying the chemical composition, it was found that the pharmacological properties of belladonna are identical to those of atropine. Plant preparations:

Reduce the secretion of gastric, salivary, lacrimal, bronchial and sweat glands;
Cause accommodation paralysis;
Reduce the tone of the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the gallbladder and bile ducts;
Hinder the outflow of intraocular fluid;
Increase intraocular pressure;
Cause tachycardia;
Dilate pupils;
Improves atrioventricular conduction.

Indications for use

Peptic ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer;
Cholelithiasis;
Spasms of smooth muscles of the abdominal organs;
Renal and biliary colic;
Bradycardia;
Bronchial asthma;
Hemorrhoids and fissures in the anus.

Medicines based on belladonna extract are also used in the study of the vessels of the fundus.

Contraindications

Closed-angle glaucoma;
Hypersensitivity to the active components of the plant;
Hypertrophy of the prostate gland, accompanied by a violation of the outflow of urine.

Belladonna home remedies

Belladonna tincture (included in Zelenin drops) is prepared in a ratio of 1:10 from the leaves of the plant and 40% alcohol. As a rule, it is taken orally in 5-10 drops for pain of various origins.

However, doctors do not recommend the independent use of belladonna due to the high risk of overdose and the development of side effects.

In case of an overdose of belladonna drugs, dizziness, psychomotor agitation, eyelid skin hyperemia, intestinal atony, urinary retention, dry mouth, mydriasis, accommodation paresis, tachycardia, photophobia may occur. If such symptoms appear, the use of belladonna should be canceled.

Also, during treatment, patients should be careful when driving vehicles and when performing work that requires good vision and increased concentration.

Information about the drug is generalized, provided for informational purposes only and does not replace the official instructions. Self-medication is hazardous to health!