PDR for Herbal Medicines

390 /HENBANE PDR FOR HERBAL MEDICINES

Characteristics: Henbane has a strong, distinctive odor. The

plant is poisonous.

Habitat: The plant is indigenous to Europe, western and

northern Asia, and northern Africa. It has been introduced to

eastern Asia, North America and Australia.

Production: Henbane leaf consists of the dried leaves or the

dried leaves and flowering tops of Hyoscyamus niger,

harvested from cultures or in the wild when in bloom and

dried mechanically or in the sun. Henbane seeds are the

seeds of Hyoscyamus niger.

Other Names: Devil's Eye, Fetid Nightshade, Stinking

Nightshade, Hen Bell, Hogbean, Jupiter's Bean and Poison

Tobacco

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

COMPOUNDS: HENBANE LEAF

Tropane alkaloids (0.05- 0.28%): chief alkaloid (-)-hyoscya-

mine, under storage conditions changing over to some extent

into atropine, and scopolamine

Flavonoids: including, among others, rutin

COMPOUNDS: HENBANE SEED

Tropane alkaloids (0.05-0.3%): chief alkaloid (-)-hyoscya-

mine, under storage conditions changing to some extent into

atropine, and scopolamine

Fatty oil

EFFECTS: HENBANE LEAF AND SEED

Main active agents: Alkaloids, flavonids. Henbane prepara-

tions produce a parasympatholytic or anticholinergic effect

by competitive inhibition of acetylcholine. This inhibition

affects the muscarinic action of acetylcholine but not its

nicotine-like effects on ganglia and motor end plates.

Henbane preparations exert peripheral actions on the auto-

nomic nervous system and on smooth muscle, as well as the

central nervous system. Because of their parasympatholytic

properties, they cause relaxation of organs containing

smooth muscle, particularly in the region of the gastrointesti-

nal tract. Furthermore, they relieve muscular tremors of

central nervous origin.

The spectrum of actions of Hyoscyamus niger additionally
includes a sedative effect.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
HENBANE LEAF
Approved by Commission E:

• Dyspeptic complaints

Unproven Uses: Preparations of henbane oil are used for the
treatment of scar tissue.

In folk medicine, Henbane is used internally for various pain

syndromes, in particular toothache and facial pain, painful

ulcers and tumors, stomach cramps and lower abdominal

pain. Externally, henbane oil is used for the treatment of scar

tissue.

It has been used for hundreds of years in so-called witches'

ointments, as a repellent against mice and rats, as stunning

agent for fish and to increase the narcotic effect of beer.

Indian Medicine: Used for toothache, bleeding gums and

nose, orchitis, dysmenorrhea, worm infestation, black vomit,

asthma, diverse pain syndromes and meningitis.

HENBANE SEED

Approved by Commission E:

• Dyspeptic complaints
  Unproven Uses: Internal application: Spasms of the gastroin-
  testinal tract; preparations of Henbane oil are used for the
  treatment of scar tissue.

In folk medicine, Henebane was formerly used as a fumigant

for asthma and toothache.

Chinese Medicine: Used for convulsions, psychoses, joint

pains, stomach pains, asthma, chronic dysentery and

diarrhea.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

HENBANE LEAF AND SEED

Tachycardiac arrhythmias, prostatic adenoma, angle-closure

glaucoma, acute pulmonary edema, mechanical stenoses in

the area of the gastrointestinal tract, megacolon.

PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS

HENBANE LEAF AND SEED

General: No health hazards are known in conjunction with

the proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages.

Skin reddening, dryness of the mouth, tachycardiac arrhyth-

mias, mydriasis (the 4 early warning symptoms of a

poisoning), accommodation disorders, heat build-up through

decline in sweat secretion, miction disorders and obstipation

can occur as side effects, particularly with overdoses.

Drug Interactions: Enhancement of anticholinergic action by

tricyclic antidepressants, amantadine, antihistamines, pheno-

thiazines, procainamide and quinidine.

OVERDOSAGE

HENBANE LEAF AND SEED

Because of the high content of scopolamine in the drug,

poisonings lead at first to somnolence, but then also, after the

intake of very high dosages, to central excitation (rest-

lessness, hallucinations, deliria, and manic episodes), fol-

lowed by exhaustion and sleep. Lethal dosages carry with

them the danger of asphyxiation (for adults starting at 100