Species of toxic flowering plant in the nightshade family.
"Deadly nightshade" redirects here. For other uses, see Deadly Nightshade.
Atropa belladonna
Illustration from Köhler's Medicinal Plants 1887
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Clade:
Asterids
Order:
Solanales
Family:
Solanaceae
Genus:
Atropa
Species:
A. belladonna
Binomial name
Atropa belladonna
L.
Atropa belladonna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae,[1] which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and aubergine (eggplant). It is native to Europe and Western Asia, including Turkey. Its distribution extends from Ireland in the west to western Ukraine and the Iranian province of Gilan in the east. It is also naturalised or introduced in some parts of Canada, North Africa and the United States.
The foliage and berries are extremely toxic when ingested, containing tropane alkaloids.[1][2][3][4] These toxins include atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, which cause delirium and hallucinations,[1][2][3][5][6] and are also used as pharmaceutical anticholinergics.[1] Tropane alkaloids are of common occurrence not only in the Old World tribes Hyoscyameae (to which the genus Atropa belongs) and Mandragoreae, but also in the New World tribe Datureae—all of which belong to the subfamily Solanoideae of the plant family Solanaceae.[1]
Atropa belladonna has unpredictable effects.[2] The antidote for belladonna poisoning is physostigmine or pilocarpine, the same as for atropine.[7]
The potentially deadly ripe fruit of Atropa belladonna can be distinguished from the similar Solanum nigrum by its larger berry size, its much larger calyx than S. nigrum that extends wider than the fruit (either encasing it or extending flat), and that A. belladonna has singular berries, whilst S. nigrum grows as a cluster of berries located on a descending stem, similar to tomatoes. Solanum nigrum has other potentially toxic look alikes and should be confidently identified before attempts at foraging.
^ abcdeKennedy, David O. (2014). "The Deliriants - The Nightshade (Solanaceae) Family". Plants and the Human Brain. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 131–137. ISBN 9780199914012. LCCN 2013031617. Archived from the original on 2023-04-22. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
^ abcUlbricht, C; Basch, E; Hammerness, P; Vora, M; Wylie Jr, J; Woods, J (2004). "An evidence-based systematic review of belladonna by the natural standard research collaboration" (PDF). Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy. 4 (4): 61–90. doi:10.1080/J157v04n04_06. PMID 15927926. S2CID 218876043. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
^ ab"Belladonna". MedlinePlus, US National Institutes of Health. 23 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
^Fatur, Karsten; Kreft, Samo (April 2020). "Common anticholinergic solanaceaous plants of temperate Europe - A review of intoxications from the literature (1966–2018)". Toxicon. 177: 52–88. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.02.005. PMID 32217234. S2CID 213559151. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
^Kuhn, Cynthia; Swartzwelder, Scott; Wilson, Wilkie; Wilson, Leigh Heather; Foster, Jeremy (2008). Buzzed. The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-393-32985-8.
^Fatur, Karsten; Kreft, Samo (April 2020). "Common anticholinergic solanaceaous plants of temperate Europe - A review of intoxications from the literature (1966–2018)". Toxicon. 177: 52–88. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.02.005. PMID 32217234. S2CID 213559151. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
^Potter, Samuel O.L. (1893). A Handbook of Materia Medica Pharmacy and Therapeutics. London: P. Blakiston's. pp. 53. the antidote for belladonna is physostigmine or pilocarpine the same as for atropine.
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