Atropa Belladonna

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Atropa Belladonna

• The Deadly Nightshade
• The Mandragora of Theophrastus (3rd Century BC)
• Devils Cherries", "Naughty Mans Cherries
• Dwaule (Dutch)
• Atropos (Greek)

EXTREMLY POISONOUS!!!
Presenter Rex Njoku
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HABITAT

• In the United States
• - Pennsylvania
• - Ohio, California
• - Wisconsin

• Wildly distributed over Central and Southern
  Europe.
• Cultivated in England, France and Southwest Asia.

• It is mostly places, it is wildly found in waste
  places, quarries and old ruins.
• Species growing in places exposed to the sun are
  expected to be dwarfed.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BELLADONNA PLANT

• Height Between 2 and 6 ft.
• Berries Green, but change to shiny purplish
  black as the plant matures. The purple juice is
  intensely sweet and a deadly temptation for
  children.
• Root Thick, Fleshy and Whitish roots about 6
  inches tall.
• Leaves Dull, darkish green in color and of
  unequal size.
• Flowers Solitary bell-shaped flowers (Five-lobed
  calyx)
• Seeds Extremely small
• Parts Used Roots, leaves, tops.
• Alkaloids All parts of the plant contain
  alkaloids, but the highest contents is in the
  ripe fruit and the green leaves.
• Lure Children mistake them for cherries or other
  sweet fruit

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GROWING PRACTICES

• Belladonna is a member of the Solanaceae family
  and is a perennial crop
• To grow well, the plant requires rich, moist
  soil, plenty of fertilizer and a weed free
  environment.
• It has been ascertained that a light, permeable
  and chalky soil is the most suitable for the
  crop.
• It is susceptible to wilt disease and damage from
  beetles.
• Harvesting is done when it is in full bloom
• Belladonna herb and root are sold by analysis.

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HISTORY

• Romans and Scotts used the plant as a weapon
  against their enemies.
• Famous Bacchanalian orgies were thought to have
  resulted from Belladonna consumption.
• According to old legends, the plant belonged to
  the devil himself
• Egyptian and Italian women used it to dilate
  their eyes to look more beautiful.

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HOW IT IS PREPARED FOR USE

• The fresh plant can be crushed and left to dry to
  attain dry leaves and roots.
• Dosages Powdered leaves, 1 to 2 grains. Powdered
  root, I to 5 grains. Fluid extract from leaves, 1
  to 3 drops. Water/Alcohol solutions.
• The plant can also be consumed fresh by just
  breaking the plant apart and squeezing the juice
  out using the pressing process (One should take
  note of right dosages).

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ADVERSE HUMAN EFFECTS FROM BELLADONNA PLANT

• Rapid Heart Beat
• Fits of Laughter
• Inability to Urinate
• Dilated pupils
• Dryness of Mouth
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Depression
• Muscle Failure
• Delirium
• Hallucinations
• Paralysis
• Coma

• Respiratory Failure
• Exhaustion
• Complete loss of voice
• Continual movement of the hands and fingers.
• Blocks acetylcholine receptors
• Loss of Balance
• Constipation
• Flushing
• DEATH!!!!

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MEDICINAL/CURRENT USES OF THE BELLADONNA PLANT.

• Medicinal properties depends on the presence of
  Atropine, Scopolamine and Hyoscyamine
• Used with morphine, it lessens pain and mortality
  in childbirth and patients with scarlett fever.
• It can be used as an antidote.
• More recently, atropine is used for curing
  asthma, bradycardia, whooping cough, gastric
  ulcers, hay fever and even Parkinson's disease.
• Atropine is used in pupil dilation during medical
  eye examinations and treatment of eye diseases
• It can be used as a narcotic, diuretic, sedative
  and mydriatic.
• It is used as an aphrodisiac, even till today in
  Morocco.

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SECONDARY METABOLITES

• Belladonna contains 3 main tropane alkaloids
  atropine (C17H23NO3), scopolamine and
  hyoscyamine.
• The drug, Atropine was derived from the plant in
  1916.

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MECHANISM OF ACTION

• Belladonna alkaloids are anticholinergic
  substances, which means that it works by blocking
  nerve impulses involved in the parasympathetic
  nervous system by inhibiting the action of
  acetylcholine receptors.
• It helps excessive sweating by slowing gland and
  organ secretion
• It helps gastrointestinal disorders by relaxing
  the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract
  and reduces stomach acid secretions.
• Because of the small therapeutic ratio of
  belladonna and its effects, it is used as a
  homeopathic remedy.

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STUDIES/RESEARCHES

• The first study looked into optimal environmental
  conditions for maximum alkaloid yield in
  belladonna
• The hypothesis was that water stress decreases
  and enhanced nitrogen increases tropane alkaloid
  yields.
• Their results was that maximum alkaloid was
  achieved from 95 depletion of soil water and
  nitrogen supply of 1.60g/pot
• Therefore, the increased content of the alkaloids
  in the case of high nitrogen fertilization at
  high water deficit might represent a stress
  response by the belladonna plants.

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STUDIES/RESEARCHES (cont.)

• The 2nd study looked into an analysis of 49
  children with acute belladonna intoxication and
  the purpose was just to enlighten the findings of
  belladonna poisoning in childhood.
• Their results show that tachycardia was found to
  be more common in the mild/moderate group and
  meaningless speech, lethargy and coma were more
  common in the severe intoxication group.
• Fortunately, there were no deaths in the study.
  They concluded that initial signs and symptoms
  might be severe in children, but no permanent
  sequel and death were seen in children.
  Neostigmine and physostigmine drugs can be used.

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STUDIES/RESEARCHES (cont.)

• The 3rd study looks into metabolic engineering
  and getting more improved alkaloid composition
  from belladonna.
• The main focus here was on scopolamine, since it
  is medicinally important and its commercial use
  is 10-fold higher than hyoscyamine and atropine
  combined, so the study looked into converting
  hyoscyamine to scopolamine using a Hyoscyamus
  niger gene (H6H cDNA clone) and 35S promoter from
  the cauliflower mosaic virus.
• The results were amazing, the belladonna leaves
  and stems exclusively contained scopolamine
  instead of other alkaloids. The herbaceous
  perennial was converted to a chemotype more
  pharmacologically valuable.

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STUDIES/RESEARCHES (cont.)

• The 4th Study investigates vagolytic and
  vagotonic effects after oral administration of
  belladonna tinctures.
• An hour after 5ml of belladonna tincture
  decreased resting heart rate (RR), high-frequency
  heart rate and noninvasive baroflex
  sensitivity(BRS) in 6 of the 8 patients . These
  effects were vagolytic responses.
• In conclusion, low doses of belladonna tinctures
  can be effectively used to stimulate
  parasympathetic activity in man and the mode of
  vagal activation changes between 2-5ml of
  belladonna tinctures from vagotonic to vagolytic.
  There was scarcely any effect on blood pressure
  control.

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STUDIES/RESEARCHES (cont.)

• The 5th study looks into the germination of
  belladonna seeds.
• It is generally known that belladonna seeds have
  a slow and irregular germination due to
  permeability of testa and influence of some
  mechanical and chemical reagents on seed
  germination.
• This study finds that germination of seeds can be
  significantly increased by treatment with the
  plant growth regulator, gibberellic acid (1 mg/L
  H2O).

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REMEDIES FOR ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM BELLADONNA

• Poisonous effects can be weakened by swallowing
  an emetic immediately, such as warm vinegar or
  mustard and water
• Stomach Pumps can help too, followed by a dose of
  magnesia, stimulants and strong coffee.
• For case of overdose of Belladonna, the remedy is
  morphine or iodine.

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FUTURE DISCUSSIONS

• Just as noticed in some of our studies, genetic
  engineered medicinal plants are beginning to
  replace conventional breeding efforts to deliver
  more qualitatively improved pharmacological
  properties.
• What are the limits to this?
• How about ethics and future effects? Any concerns?

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CONCLUSION

• Belladonna Poem By Kimberly Townsend Palmer.
• Make sure you dont confuse deadly nightshade
  with woody nightshade.
• Any Questions!!!!

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REFERENCES

• Dea Baricevic, et.al.(1999).Effect of
  water stress and nitrogen fertilization on the
  contents of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in the
  roots of deadly nightshade (Atropa Belladonna).
  Environmental and Experimental Botany 42 17-24.
• D Yun, et.al.(1992). Metabolic Engineering
  of Medicinal Plants Transgenic Atropa belladonna
  with an Improved Alkaloid Composition. Applied
  Biological Sciences. Vol. 89, pp. 11799 11803.
• Elena Genova, et.al.(1997). Study on the
  Germination of Atropa Belladonna L. Seeds. Bulg.
  J. Plant Physiology 23(1-2), 61-66.
• Henrik Betterman, et.al. (2001). Bimodal
  Dose-Dependent Effect on Autonomic, Cardiac
  Control after Oral Administration of Atropa
  belladonna. Autonomic Neuroscience Basic and
  Clinical 90 132-137.
• Harvey Wickes, et.al.(1898).
  Belladonna.-Belladonna. Kings American
  Dispensatory. http//www.henrietteshertbal.com/ecl
  ectic/kings/atropa.html Accessed Jan. 23, 2007
• Huseyin Caksen, et.al. (2003).Deadly
  Nightshade (Atropa belladonna) Intoxication an
  Analysis of 49 Children. Human Experimental
  Toxicology 22665-668.