Belladonna
Medicinal properties of belladonna and plant recipes
Belladonna is a poisonous plant
Belladonna, or belladonna, as it is often called, is a perennial herb that is 1–2 meters high. This plant belongs to the nightshade family. Belladonna has a strong, multi-headed rhizome, which resembles a cylinder with a diameter of about 8 cm. The roots of the plant are very powerful and branched. The stem of the plant is green (and sometimes with a purple tint), always straight, with many branches.
Belladonna leaves are pointed and ovoid, the color of the leaves is dark green. The lower and upper leaves vary in size. The upper leaves are arranged in pairs, but the lower ones are arranged alternately.
Belladonna can be recognized by its flowers: they are very large (3 cm), brown-purple on the outside and dirty yellow on the inside. The belladonna fruit is a black, glossy berry that looks like an ordinary cherry. The berry has two nests and has many seeds. The taste of the berry is sweetish, and the juice is dark purple. Black seeds are about 2 mm long, flat or uneven, angular or round.
The flowering of a plant depends on the year of its life. For example, if the plant is in the first year of the growing season, then it blooms in August, and if it is more years old, then flowering begins in May and lasts until the end of the growing season. Fruit ripening occurs from July to September.
Belladonna is a plant that is very common in the mountains of Crimea, the Caucasus and the Carpathians. But this poisonous plant also grows in Asia Minor and Central Asia, Afghanistan, South America, Pakistan and the USA.
The plant can grow both singly and in the form of thickets on the outskirts of roads, in glades and forest edges. Belladonna grows in moist, humus and loose soil. Surprisingly, this poisonous and dangerous plant was listed in the Red Book of Russia.
Belladonna belongs to poisonous plants: all parts of it are poisonous, including the fruits. There have been cases when people were poisoned with honey, which was produced from belladonna pollen.
Belladonna is very dangerous for children: just two berries of this "crazy cherry" lead to the death of a child. But birds do not care about this berry: thrush, starlings and other birds can peck this berry without fear.
The medicinal properties of belladonna
The whole plant contains the alkaloid hyoscyamine. Atropine is the main plant alkaloid with antispasmodic and neurogenic properties. It reduces the tone of the intestines, uterus, bronchi and other smooth muscle organs.
All of the alkaloids in belladonna improve heart function, dilate pupils and increase pressure within the eye.
The use of belladonna
The leaves of the plant are used for the production of tinctures, tablets, extracts and other drugs for the treatment of various diseases.
On the basis of belladonna, preparations are made that are used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic agent for intestinal and stomach ulcers, for muscle pain, tuberculosis and even for epilepsy.
In ophthalmology, atropine, which was isolated from belladonna, is widely used. But if a person has increased eye pressure, then the use of belladonna as a means of treating eyes is contraindicated for him.
Belladonna is used for poisoning with poisonous substances or mushrooms.
Small doses of belladonna are used if you want to reduce the secretion of the salivary or sweat glands. And also a small dose of this poisonous plant normalizes the peristalsis of the pathways that remove bile and urine from the body.
The content of scopolamine was found in the roots of the plant. Scopolamine is a substance used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
The juice squeezed from the leaves of the plant helps to remove age spots, if any, on any skin area of a person.
Belladonna treatment
Belladonna tincture. This tincture is used as an analgesic for kidney stones or calculous cholecystitis. Such a tincture is prepared easily. You need to take 10 grams of belladonna leaves and fill them with half a glass of 96% alcohol. The tincture must be removed in a dark place for one week for infusion. Then do not forget to strain the product and take 5-10 drops for pain.
Belladonna decoction. Take 10 grams of crushed belladonna roots and fill them with one glass of boiled water. We put on fire for half an hour, after which we cool for about 10 minutes and filter. This broth is used for joint pain. Compresses are made from the broth or simply rubbed with problem (painful) areas of the body.
Tincture on belladonna leaves. You need to take 10 grams of belladonna leaves and insist them in 100 ml of 40% alcohol. It is necessary to take such a tincture in 5-10 drops. This medicine is used for colic, diarrhea and insomnia. And externally it is used for tumors, breast cancer and infiltration.
Belladonna decoction. This decoction is used to treat Parkinson's disease. You need to prepare such a tool as follows: take 30 grams of dried and crushed plant roots and mix them with 100 grams of activated carbon. Pour all this into 750 ml of dry white wine and put on fire. Cook for 10 minutes and remove from heat. The finished broth must be filtered. Take this brew daily 3 times before meals. The treatment lasts 3 days. A single dose of taking the medicine is 1 teaspoon. When 3 hours have passed after taking the broth, you need to take nutmeg (on the tip of a knife). Or, you can just chew on the calamus root a little.
Belladonna poisoning and first aid with it
Belladonna is a poisonous plant. Therefore, you need to take drugs from it carefully and only under the supervision of a doctor.
Belladonna poisoning is a consequence of eating the berries of this plant (which is most often done by kids). When belladonna is harvested on plantations, then due to the fact that they touch it with hands, and then touch the face with them, a toxic effect on the human body occurs.
Symptoms of belladonna poisoning are as follows: dryness is observed in the mouth and nasal cavity, the pupils are dilated, vision is impaired, and the face turns red. A rash is visible on the body. Poisoned by belladonna suffers from headaches, hallucinations, it is difficult to swallow, his voice is hoarse, vomiting and diarrhea also occur.
First aid for belladonna poisoning. Of course, the very first and most important decision is to call an ambulance! While the doctor arrives at the injured person, he needs to do a gastric lavage. To do this, force the victim to drink 250-1250 ml of a solution of weak potassium permanganate or simple weak tea. Poisonous alkaloids are bound by tannin, which is contained in tea and potassium permanganate, which prevents alkaloids from being absorbed further into the stomach. After that, a person who has poisoned with belladonna should start vomiting - this is normal! After taking potassium permanganate, you need to do the following: take 20-30 tablets of activated carbon, crush them and pour 200 ml of cold water. We stir all this and give a drink to the poisoned person.
If necessary, you can flush the stomach again, but no earlier than after the first flush, 1-2 hours will pass.
In case of palpitations or shortness of breath, heart drops should be given to the victim.
If the heart suddenly stops and the person stops breathing, then resuscitation measures should be taken immediately.
Even if the victim's health improves, he still needs to go to the hospital.
In order not to be poisoned by this plant, you need to observe the dosage and take Belladonna preparations very carefully!
The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist
Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).
