Atropa belladonna:
The deadly nightshade
Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
Plantae
Magnoliophyta
Solanales
Solanaceae
Atropa
A. belladonna
• Atropa
Taxonomy (cont.)
– From the Greek God Atropos
• One of the fates that cut the thread of life
• Belladonna
– “Beautiful Lady” in Italian
• Common Names:
– Deadly Nightshade
– Devil’s Herb
– Apples of Sodom
• Same family as the potatoes,
tomatoes, eggplants, tobacco, chili
peppers, etc.
Morphology & Botanical
Relationships
• Low growing perennial
herb/shrub that grows 2-6 ft
tall
• Not hardy perennial
• Sensitive to being
transplanted
• Thick root
• Leaves
– Simple, alternate
Morphology & Botanical
Relationships (cont.)
• Flowers
– Solitary bell-shaped (drooping
and tubular)
– 5-lobe
– Dull red-purple or greenish
purple
• Fruit
– Glossy, purple-black berries
– Green berries turn purplishblack as plant matures
Species Distribution
• Native to Eurasia
• Naturalized in many parts
of the world
• Cultivated/harvested in
US:
– California, Oregon,
Washington, Michigan,
New Jersey, New York
• Some farms even export
to Europe
Habitat
• Seeds are small: about 10,000 plants will
germinate from 1-2oz of seed
• Germination takes up to several weeks
– In warm, moist, sterile soil
• Plant requires:
– rich, moist
– plenty of fertilizer
– weed free environment
Habitat (cont.)
• Landscape in flower gardens as
herbaceous flowering ornamental
• May even be considered a weed in
some areas
• Plant is usually high yielding
– But susceptible to wilt disease caused by
potato beetle and flea beetle
Active Compounds
Tropane Alkaloids
Atropine
C17H23NO3
C17H21NO4
Hyoscyamine
C17H23NO3
Scopolamine
History of Uses
• Attributed to the Bacchanalian orgies
– Women tear off clothes, go into
frenzied dances and literally throw
themselves at men
• Used in witches’ brew and flying
ointments
– Anointed broomstick
History of Uses (cont.)
• Romans used plant as a “weapon”
– Contaminated enemies food storage
• Used to poison the troops of Marcus
Antonius during the Parthian Wars.
• Scottish troops used it during a truce to
subdue the invading Danes.
– Legend: Scottish troops put belladonna into
enemies’ liquor supply
– Waited for enemies to fall asleep and then kill
them
History of Uses (cont.)
• “Truth serum” in the old days
– Used in many legal battles and court cases
• Cosmetics:
– Spanish and Italian Women
• Extracts used as eye drops to dilate pupils, giving
pupils a more intense, hypnotic, and attractive appeal
• Because pupil dilate when people are aroused;
therefore, making eye contact more intense
History of Uses (cont.)
• Pain reducer:
– 1992: Scopolamine added to morphine to cause “twilight
sleep”
• Lessened the pain and mortality of childbirth
• Life saver:
– In 1943 (WWII), the Germans had developed a nerve gas
in which Atropa (atropine) was the only antidote
– In Tijuana Mexico (1967), people poisoned by insecticide
– parathion - when they ate the bread that was exposed to
the chemical
• Use of atropine saved many lives
Uses in Medicine
• Slows action of smooth muscle system
– Parkinson’s symptoms
– Irregularities in heart rate
– Dilates pupils
– Reduces salivation
– Stomach and bladder
cramps
– Helps to relax pre-surgery patients
Uses in Medicine Cont.
• Combats infection and decreases pain
when combined with methylene blue,
phenyl salicylate, and benzoic acid.
• Prevents nausea and vomiting caused
by motion sickness
• Counteracts the effects of nerve gas.
Recent Studies
• Study done in 2006
– Older patients who could not reach their
target heart rate were given atropine.
– Control group did not receive atropine
when they did not reach their target heart
rate.
– Those who received atropine were able to
reach their target heart rate while the
control group was not.
Recent Studies
2007 Singapore
• One group of children received
atropine eye drops in one eye
while the other eye was allowed
to progress naturally.
• Second, control group was given saline eye drops.
• The eye in which the experimental group received the atropine
eye drops was found to stop myopic progression while the
other eye progressed naturally.
• The control group saw no such benefits from their saline eye
drops.
Effects on Humans
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Increased/rapid heart rate
Fits of laughter
Inability to urinate
Dilated pupils
Dryness of mouth
Nausea, vomiting
Muscle failure
Exhaustion
Signs of Overdose
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Stop perspiring
Rise in body temperature
Inability to see or blurred vision
Hallucinations
Flushed skin
Confusion
Coma
Death
Harvesting and Processing
- Harvested at full bloom
- Can be harvested as soon as
the first year of growth
(1crop
obtained)
- Continue harvesting for 2-4
years (2-3 crops)
- Once plant is two years old, can harvest twice a
year: June and September.
- After fourth year, all of plant is cut down and new
seeds are planted
- Because there is no further increase in alkaloid
content
Harvesting and Processing
Cont.
- For the first few years all of the plant save for the last
inch or so is cut away.
- The harvested portions of the plant are allowed to dry
in the sun.
- Chemical extraction and
isolation result in the
production of atropine.
- Atropine sulfate is stored
in a 0.9% saline solution
and preservative (benzol
alcohol)
Summary
• What we planned to do initially - carrots
• Atropa belladonna is a member of the
Solanaceae (potato) family
• Although it is a poisonous plant, it still
has many uses. Ironically, among the
important ones are medicinal use
• Mainly used to speed up heart rates
What We Think?
• We found it to be an interesting plant
• A prime example of a highly poisonous
plant, yet still very useful for us
• Atropa belladonna is a plant that has
ongoing research done on it – mainly
to study affects of the tropane alkaloids
• Maybe they’ll “accidentally” find some
other uses of the plant???
References
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Emboden, William. Narcotic Plants. Collier Books, New York, 1980.
Fan, D. S. P.; Lam, D. S. C.; Chan, C. K. M.; Fan, A. H.; Cheung, E. Y. Y.; Rao, S. K. “Topical
Atropine In Retarding Myopic Progression and Axial Length Growth in Children with
Moderate to Severe Myopia: A Pilot Study”. Jpn J Ophthalmol 51, 27-33, 2007.
Simpson, Beryll. Economic Botany: Plants in our World, 3rd Ed. McGraw Hill, New York,
2001.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ATROP
http://www.ams.usda.gov/NOSB/MaterialsReview/AtropineFinalSupplement.pdf
http://www.biopix.dk/Photo.asp?PhotoId=1697
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Atropbe.htm
http://www.eyehealthillinois.org/dilatedbig.html
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_belladonna.htm
http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/~db26/fotos/_Gift-_und_Arzneipflanzen?C=D%3BO=A
http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/atropa.htm
http://www.swsbm.com/Images/New10-2003/Atropa_belladonna-7.jpg
http://www.triora.org/processo_ing.html
http://www.uic.edu/sph/glakes/kids/case1/slides1/ss14.htm
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/WITCHES/witches.html
Questions??
Thank You!