Belladonna
Pronunciation:bell-uh-DON-uh
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:8007-93-0
Formal Names:Atropa belladonna
Informal Names:Black Cherry, Deadly Nightshade, Death’s Herb, Devil’s Cher-
ries, Devil’s Herb, Divale, Dwale, Dwayberry, Great Morel, Love Apple, Mur-
derer’s Berry, Naughty Man’s Cherries, Poison Black Cherry, Sleeping
Nightshade, Sorcerers Berries, Sorcerer’s Cherry, Witch’s Berry
Type:Hallucinogen.Seepage 25
Federal Schedule Listing:Unlisted as natural product
USA Availability:Nonprescription natural product; some pharmaceutical prepa-
rations are prescription
Pregnancy Category:None
Uses.Belladonna bushes thrive in the United States, Europe, North Africa,
and Southeast Asia. Some persons seeking a hallucinogenic effect eat the ber-
ries. Leaves and roots are used medically. The wood has an even higher drug
content but does not seem to be exploited medically. The plant grows wild
and has also been cultivated on a commercial scale for the pharmaceutical
industry. Drugs found in the plant include atropine, hyoscyamine, and sco-
polamine, all of which are also found injimson weedand Europeanman-
drake.
Belladonna substances can ease premenstrual syndrome. They can reduce
spasms in smooth muscles of the digestive tract, but they cause tremors or
stiffness in other muscles. Heart rate is accelerated. Migraine headaches can
lessen. An experiment showed that belladonna can reduce breathing abnor-
malities in infants. Some medical traditions have used belladonna for reducing
sweat and other secretions and against tonsilitis, meningitis, scarlet fever,
whooping cough, and epilepsy. At one time medical practitioners gave bel-
ladonna to fight Parkinson’s disease and drug addiction, but those treatments
have been superseded by others. Belladonna preparations have modern usage
against vesico-ureteral reflux, a condition in which urine flows back toward
the kidney from the bladder. Caregivers have administered belladonna to treat
various pains, ranging from kidney stones to sore throat. Belladonna powders
and cigarettes have been used against asthma. The natural product is consid-
ered effective against afflictions of the gallbladder and liver. Belladonna is