NIGHTSHADE

By Ko r t l yn Ki mb r o u gh ( F er n u n g) , Student pharmacist Fall 2020

History of Nightshade:

Nightshade or Atropa Belladonna is a Eurasian perennial. Other names for this plant are Devil’s Berries, Naughty Man’s Cherries, Death Cherries, Beautiful Death, and Devil’s Herb. Historically women have used the herb’s oils to dilate and enlarge the pupils for seductive effect. It is best known as the plant of choice for assassins throughout history. This plant grows wildly in many parts of the United States. It grows mostly in dumps, quarries, near old ruins, under shade trees, or atop wooded hills. The toxins that grow in this plant cause delirium and hallucination. Deadly nightshade berries pose the greatest danger to children since they are attractive and sweet at first bite. Two berries are enough to kill a child and it takes 10-20 to kill an adult. A single leaf being consumed is enough to kill a human.

Slang Terms: à Atropa Belladonna à Devil’s Berries à Naughty Man’s Cherries à Beautiful death

Pharmacology

Uses: à Minor burns, abrasions, and skin irrigations

Dosing à 1 to 3 g/day usually given as decoction or infusion in 250 mL of water

Adverse Reactions à Dilated pupils à GI effects

Mechanism of action: à Th e active components of belladonna act as competitive antagonist at muscarinic receptors and block the binding of acetylcholine to the CNS and parasympathetic postganglionic muscarinic receptors. https://medium.com/@magicalhistoricity/d eadly- nightshade-garden- on -roof-of-coittower-blooms-six- years- early8ef938cd4084

Botany:

https://allth atsinteresti ng.com/dea

Bittersweet Nightshade is a member of the same family as the potato, tomato, and belladonna. It is a vine like perennial that can grow to three meters. It has alternating heart-shaped oval leaves that have two small ear like segments at their bases. It’s star shaped flowers bloom from April to September. These flowers are a pink-purple color with bright yellow stamens. The flowers produce berries that turn bright red when mature.

Laws regarding Nightshade: à Nightshade is uncontrolled in the United States. This means that all parts of the plant and its extracts are legal to cultivate, buy, possess, and distribute without a license.

Monitoring Nightshade: The flowers are easy to spot from midMay to late fall. It is important to monitor these areas.

Drug testing monitoring: Scopolamine Test

Professional opinion:

Toxicology:

Both the immature and ripened fruit are toxic. The FDA classifies this as an unsafe poisonous herb because of the presence of the toxic spirosolane glycoalkaloids. These cause hemolytic and hemorrhagic damage to the GI tract.

Symptoms of poisoning à Circulatory and respiratory depression à Convulsions à Diarrhea à Dilated pupils

This drug in the last history was used to help women feel young by the dilution of their eyes. This drug has tons of interactions and has such a fatal dose. I would not recommend this drug or plant to anyone, since th e berries are so potent and easy to kill

Anastasiia Nastyna. Drawing of Nightshade. https://www.dreamstime.com/hand - drawn-deadly- nightshadeflower-set -purple-flowers-green-leaves- buds-berries- beigebackground-vector-floral-elements-image157108244

References:

à Nightshade. Lexi-Drugs. Lexicomp. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Riverwoods, IL. Accessed October 13, 2022. Http://online.lexi.com à Nightshade. The Vaults of Erowid. Accessed October 13, 2022. https://www.erowid.org/herbs/nightshade/nightshade.shtml à 6 Facts You Didn’t Know about Nightshade. Accessed October 13, 2022. https://chhs.source.colostate.edu/6-facts-didnt-know-nightshades/ à Michael Largo. The Big, Bad Botany: Deadly Nightshade. https:// slate.com/technology/2014/08/poisonous-plants-belladonnanightshade-is-the-celebrity-of-deadly-flora.html