Deadly Nightshade

Description

Almost everyone knows this indigenous poisonous plant with its cherry-sized shiny black berries that are so dangerously attractive. But eating the berries or any other part of the Deadly Nightshade can be fatal. The bushy plant, with several reddish stems that are branched at the top, can reach a height of 1½ meters (5 feet). From June to August, hidden beneath the leaves, it bears thimble-shaped flowers which are brownish violet on the outside and dingy yellow with purple veins on the inside. In the autumn all the above-ground parts die. New stems then grow again from the rootstock in the spring. Deadly Nightshade thrives best on chalk or limestone in lightly wooded areas.
Caution: All parts of Deadly Nightshade are poisonous. It should therefore never be used for self-medication without medical advice. Children must be warned about it.

Habitat

Central and Southern Europe, Southwest Asia

Constituents

atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine, various secondary alkaloids

Uses

In the hands of a doctor the highly poisonous Deadly Nightshade becomes an important and potent medicinal herb which is used to treat diseases of the stomach and intestine that are associated with crampy pain. It is also used for bronchial asthma and various neuralgias. And it plays an important role in ophthalmology.
It is important to repeat that Deadly Nightshade should never be used for self-medication without the advice of a doctor. It is highly toxic and can be fatal. Only in the hands of a doctor is it a highly potent and useful drug.

Interesting facts

In Greek mythology Atropa, from the Greek atropos (unchangeable, irrevocable), is the name of the goddess of death, the oldest of the three Fates who severs the thread of life. The name Belladonna comes from the Italian bella donna = beautiful woman and is probably derived from the fact that Italian women used to use atropine to dilate the pupils to conform with the fashion ideal of the time. The berries are said to have been used as make-up.

Some of the German names such as Tollkirsche (toll = mad, Kirsche = cherry) and Wutbeere (Wut = anger, Beere = berry) are derived from the symptoms of poisoning: first the face becomes flushed and the pupils dilated; after ingestion of large doses, this is followed by marked restlessness, incessant talking, crying fits, clouding of consciousness and delirium.

At the time of the witch hunts Deadly Nightshade played an ignominious role: it was used to make an ointment which was applied to women accused of being witches. The hallucinogenic effect led them to confess under torture everything their tormentors wanted to hear.

The highly toxic plant also used to be used to make poisonous concoctions and love potions. A toast to the madness of love!

Use in Skin Care and Remedies

A tree that dissolves or disintegrates completely in the autumn appears to be the pure expression of liquefaction. This tendency is underlined by its constant variability of growth, its fluid play with form. And it is precisely this that makes Deadly Nightshade so valuable for medicinal use. It is used wherever there is a need for dissolution, liquefaction, release of cramps.

For example, in WALA Apis/Belladonna* the fruits of the Deadly Nightshade are combined with the bee (Apis) to give a highly potent remedy for inflammatory disorders in the region of the mouth, nose and throat. The inflammatory focus is dissolved, the tissue can regenerate. The dissolving, decongesting action is also utilized in eye drops, for example in Atropa belladonna e fructibus, Single-Use Eye Drops *.
In Belladonna/Chamomilla* Deadly Nightshade relieves cramps in the gastrointestinal region.
Aurum/Belladonna comp.* counteracts tendencies towards hardening of and formation of deposits in the blood vessels.
In addition to this selection, Deadly Nightshade is also found in combination with other substances in a number of other WALA remedies which have antispasmodic, decongesting and dissolving action.


* Prescribing information for the preparations mentioned (the indications are derived from the anthroposophical understanding of man and nature):

Apis Belladonna Globuli velati
Indications: incipient and chronically recurrent inflammatory conditions with or without fever, particularly those of the oronasopharynx and the skin, e.g. cellulitis involving the superficial layers of the skin (erysipelas), inflammation of the breast (mastitis), inflammation of the lymphatics (lymphangitis), inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media).
Warning: This medicinal product contains sucrose.

Aurum/Belladonna comp., Globuli velati
Indications: Stimulation and harmonisation of the rhythmic system in disorders with an increased tendency to deposits in and hardening of the blood vessels, e.g. beginning vascular sclerosis, impaired blood supply to the brain (cerebral hypoperfusion), high blood pressure (hypertension).
Warning: This medicinal product contains sucrose and lactose.

Belladonna/Chamomilla, Globuli velati
Indications: Integration of the sensitivity organisation in the rhythmic functional processes of motility and secretion in the smooth-muscular hollow organs of the abdominal cavity, e.g. stomach/abdominal cramps (gastrointestinal spasms), indigestion (dyspepsia), painful periods (dysmenorrhoea).
Warning: This medicinal product contains sucrose.

* For information on risks and side-effects please read the pack insert and ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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