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Black henbane is a poisonous biennial plant of the nightshade family, reaching a height of up to 1 meter. The henbane stem has a hairy coating, is sticky to the touch and has unpleasant smell. The flowers are large, somewhat reminiscent of bells, cream-colored with purple veins. This is a widespread plant that can be found near houses, in abandoned fields, and wastelands. You can often hear the expression “henbane has eaten too much,” which means that a person’s behavior is not entirely adequate. And this is quite justified, because the plant contains toxins, which, when they enter the body, cause a person’s behavior to change significantly.

Henbane contains many potent alkaloids: atropines, hyoscyamines, hyoscines. This plant is also rich in proteins, sucrose, glucosoids, essential oils. The effect of henbane on the body is very strong; it has the properties to affect the smooth muscles of the biliary and urinary tract, stomach, and reduce or completely stop their spasm. The plant also has analgesic, anthelmintic, and sedative properties. Due to its toxicity, they rarely try to use henbane in medicine. More often it is used in therapy, which is provided after a person is bitten by an animal with rabies.

In pharmacology, henbane is used to make medicines against asthma, seasickness and air sickness. Also, for neuralgic, muscle pain and spasms, henbane-based oil is used, which is rubbed into the skin.

The plant can also help in the treatment of diseases such as bone tuberculosis, anthrax, and malignant tumors.

History has preserved information that black henbane was used to prepare poisons. In the Middle Ages, this plant was part of an ointment that had a witch’s meaning, since it created the illusion of flight and was capable of putting a person into a trance. Warriors also consumed the henbane plant before battle. Thanks to this, they lost fear, became aggressive and lost sensitivity to pain.

Plant toxicity

Despite the widespread use of henbane in medicine, it is classified as a very toxic plant. Roots and seeds are especially dangerous. Henbane poisoning is currently not a rare event. Poisoning often occurs among children who are attracted to appearance flower, the sweet-tasting henbane root is perceived as a white carrot, and the seeds are perceived as poppies.

The poison of black henbane is so strong that you can get poisoned through the milk of an animal (cow, goat) into whose stomach this herb has entered. The toxicity of the plant is due to the presence of highly active plant alkaloids in its composition, the most toxic of which are atropine and scopolamine. These toxins have psychotropic neurotoxic effects on the human nervous system. They block receptors on the nerve endings of the parasympathetic system. Slow down the functioning of the salivary, sweat glands, and pancreas.

Symptoms of poisoning

Signs of henbane poisoning will appear depending on the amount of grass eaten and the body weight of the victim. Intoxication also occurs when plant juice gets on the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes. Children tend to have more severe symptoms and greater toxicity due to their smaller body size.

In case of mild poisoning, the first symptoms will appear after 20-30 minutes and will manifest themselves in the following:

If you overeat the henbane plant in large quantities, severe intoxication develops. At the same time, the following changes occur in the body:

• Orientation in the area and in space is completely lost;
• Blood pressure drops, the pulse is fast but weakly palpable;
• The skin and mucous membranes become pale with a bluish tint.
• Severe motor overexcitation, convulsions;
• The person is completely inadequate, is delusional, and hallucinations appear;
• Involuntary bowel movements (loose, whitish, sticky stool)

If appropriate assistance is not provided and black henbane toxins continue to be absorbed into the blood, then over time, the patient’s breathing will weaken and become a rare contraction of the heart. Death occurs within 24 hours. For an adult, the lethal dose of atropine is 100 mg.

First aid for poisoning

Henbane poisoning requires timely assistance to the victim to avoid the absorption of toxins into the blood. Initially, when the first signs appear, you need to call a team of medical workers. To remove toxins that have not yet been absorbed into the blood, you need to do a gastric lavage. Because poisonous plant Henbane does not provoke vomiting, compared to other food poisoning, causing it will also be problematic.

Therefore, a probe is used for washing, which is pre-lubricated with oil. Washing is done with a soda solution or diluted activated carbon.

Further treatment is carried out under the supervision of doctors in a hospital setting. If help was provided on time, the prognosis is usually favorable. However, recovery of the body may take long time, especially from the nervous system.

Henbane (rabbit, blekota, dope grass) is a poisonous plant belonging to the nightshade family. During
In the first year, a shoot is formed, which is a rosette of elongated oval-shaped leaves, most often dark green. In the second year, the stem begins to grow, which reaches a height of 20-115 cm, has soft stem leaves with sticky glandular hairs and extremely bad smell.

The flower is quite large, has a funnel-shaped dirty yellowish corolla and a bell-shaped calyx. The fruit, in the form of a pitcher-shaped box 21-32 mm long, opens at the top with a spherical lid, reminiscent of a cup with splayed teeth. It blooms throughout the summer, the fruits appear at the end of August.

Henbane - types and places of growth

There are 20 types of henbane, some of them: white henbane, Czech henbane, Kopetdag, camerara, net henbane, tiny black henbane, etc. In Europe and Asia, the most common henbane is black henbane.

This plant is distributed almost everywhere. It can be found in the Caucasus, the European part, Siberia, Crimea, as well as in some temperate climatic zones of Asia and North America. Most often, black henbane can be found along roads, along the sides of ditches and river banks, on shallows, pastures, near wintering grounds for livestock, along the outskirts of vineyards, and less often in orchards and vegetable gardens. Scattered small groups of ruderal weed do not form large thickets. Improved farming standards have led to a decrease in the spread of the weed, and some regions (Voronezh and Novosibirsk) have included it in the list of industrial crops.

Henbane - dosage forms

In medicine, atropine alkaloids are used, which are contained in all organs of the plant, as well as bleached oil (Oleum hyoscyami) extracted from seeds and leaves with oleic, linolenic and other acids. The leaves of the plant are rich in rutin.

Henbane - medicinal properties

Although henbane preparations are not prescribed on a wide scale, the list of diseases for which there is a need to use these drugs is quite extensive.

These are bronchial asthma (Astmatin, Astmatol, Efatin), peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, pylorospasm, spasm of the intestines and urinary tract, hepatic and renal colic. Hyoscyamine is a henbane alkaloid. It is used in Aeron tablets as an antiemetic during air travel. This plant is used as part of ointments for the external treatment of pleurisy and cough, and for bone tuberculosis.

Henbane - recipes

The medicinal effect of henbane has been known since ancient times. In case of inflammation of the oral cavity, our ancestors rolled dry henbane leaves in the form of cigars and smoked, trapping the smoke in their mouths.

Henbane is widely used in the external treatment of neuralgia, rheumatism, and gout. To do this, fresh leaves are soaked in ammonia and (1:1), and infused in sunflower oil, after which the sore spots are rubbed with this composition.

Recipe for gastrointestinal diseases:
Pour 1 teaspoon of leaves with boiling water (0.5 l) and leave for an hour. Use 1 tbsp for pain. spoon before meals 3 times a day.

It must be remembered that all parts of henbane are poisonous. Mild poisoning is manifested by dry mouth and speech disorder, photophobia and redness of the skin. Delusions and hallucinations are accompanied by tachycardia and complete loss of orientation.

In case of severe poisoning, convulsions and coma are possible. Death can occur as a result of paralysis of the respiratory system and vascular insufficiency.

Table of contents

Genus species: Henbane (Hyoscyamus)
Family: Solanaceae
Latin name: Hyoscyamus niger
Folk names: night blindness, lulik, blekota, henbane, mad grass, runner, madness, stupor, pork bean, dydor, scab, dog poppy, drunken root, German, infirmity, poisonous tobacco, “eye of the devil.”

Description

Black henbane – two years herbaceous plant with a pungent unpleasant odor, covered with soft, sticky fluff. The root is thick, fleshy, taproot, up to 2-3 cm thick. The stem is straight, branched, tubular, from 20 cm to 115 cm high. The leaves are oblong, dark green, light underneath, grayish, coarsely toothed, pinnately notched. The flowers are large, sessile, 2-3 cm long, dirty yellow with a purple or black center. The fruit is a multi-seeded (two-locular) capsule, widened at the bottom, filled with small rounded seeds.

Distribution and habitat

Black henbane grows almost everywhere (in weedy places, fields, orchards and orchards, near housing, roads, fences, and also on the outskirts of vineyards). Widely distributed in the European part, more often in the southern and western regions, in the Caucasus, less often in Siberia, Central Asia, in Far East. It grows in large quantities in forest-steppe areas.

Flowering and harvest time

Henbane blooms in the second half of May until September; bears fruit in August–September. This plant is collected and prepared in Ukraine, Rostov region, Belarus and Krasnodar region. Leaves are collected in August - September from plants of the first year of life, from plants of the second year of life - during flowering, grass is collected during the period of fruit formation. Leaves are dried in the attic; drying is possible in a dryer with artificial heating at a temperature of 40-45 ° C. Spread in a thin layer, turning occasionally.

Chemical composition

All parts of black henbane are poisonous (especially the seeds) and contain atropine alkaloids, the most important of which are hyoscyamine, atropine, scopolamine, and tannins. The leaves contain nitrogen-containing compounds, potassium, calcium, copper, molybdenum, bromine, selenium, lithium. The seeds contain unsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, and steroids.

Application and medicinal properties

Henbane was once used in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece as a medicinal plant. The Egyptians and Persians were also treated with henbane.

Black henbane leaves are used for medicinal purposes. The tops of plants are also used along with flowers and young fruits, and less often seeds. After collecting the herbs, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly.

The effect of henbane on the body is associated with the alkaloids it contains (atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine), which have an anticholinergic effect. The alkaloid atropine has the property of reducing the secretion of the digestive and sweat glands, and also increases heart rate. Henbane preparations are prescribed as an analgesic and antispasmodic for diseases such as spasms of smooth muscles of the stomach and intestines. And also preparations from henbane reduce senile trembling. IN folk medicine The plant was often used as an analgesic for toothache. I also took henbane decoction before bedtime hot bath as a remedy against insomnia. Medicines from henbane leaves are used for respiratory diseases, but only as prescribed by a doctor.

Contraindications

Black henbane is poisonous and therefore dangerous; drugs should only be used as prescribed by a doctor. Preparations based on henbane are contraindicated for glaucoma. Be careful when taking such drugs during pregnancy and lactation, because the plant alkaloids penetrate the blood-placental barrier and are found in milk. For children medicines based on henbane, use according to strict indications.

When poisoned with henbane preparations, patients complain of thirst, dry mucous membranes, difficulty breathing, hallucinations, and dizziness. The patient's skin becomes dry and red, the pupils are dilated, and the pulse is increased.

Carefully!

Why is black henbane dangerous?

Black henbane is a highly poisonous plant. There have been cases of severe poisoning - convulsions, loss of consciousness and even death. The first symptoms of poisoning appear within about half an hour. First aid: rinse the stomach with weak solutions of potassium permanganate or water with the addition of charcoal powder (carbolene), or rinse the stomach with a solution table salt(1 tablespoon per 5-10 liters of water).

Hyoscyamus niger
Taxon: Solanaceae family
Common names: blekota, mad grass, mad grass, toothworm, scab
English: Henbane

Description:
Biennial plant of the nightshade family. In the first year it forms a rosette of large ovoid or oblong basal leaves. In the second year, a branched stem 20-115 cm high grows. The stem leaves are oblong-ovate, pitted-pinnately cut, soft, covered with sticky whitish glandular hairs, with an unpleasant intoxicating odor. The bracts are oblong, almost entire, the flowers are quite large, with a funnel-shaped dirty yellowish corolla 2-4.5 cm long and a bell-shaped calyx. The fruit is a pitcher-shaped capsule 21-32 mm long, opening at the top with a lid, enclosed in a hardened calyx with teeth splayed at the top. The seeds are fine-celled, brownish-grayish in color. It blooms from the second half of May to August, bears fruit in June-August.
The generic name comes from the Greek hyoskyamos: hys - pig, kyamos - beans, i.e. "pork beans" The plant received the specific name niger - black - because of the black-violet throat of the flower.

Spreading:
It grows as a weed throughout the European part of Russia, except for the southern regions, in all regions of the Caucasus, and is also found in the Urals, Western and Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Collection and preparation:
WITH therapeutic purpose henbane leaves are harvested in the rosette and flowering phase, grass - in the fruiting phase. The shelf life of raw materials is 2 years.

Chemical composition:
The roots of the plant contain alkaloids in an amount of 0.15-0.18%, leaves - up to 0.1%, stems - about 0.02%, seeds - 0.06-0.1%. Alkaloids include hyoscyamine, atropine, and scopolamine. It also contains hyoscypicrin, hyoscerin and hyoscyresin. The seeds contain up to 34% fatty oil, which contains 22.4% oleic acid, 71.3% linoleic acid, and 6.3% unsaturated acids.

Pharmacological properties:
Henbane preparations have antispasmodic and analgesic properties.

Application in medicine:
Used for diseases associated with spasms of smooth muscles, stomach, intestines, etc., externally - in the form of rubbing oil for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain. Extract from the skin of the stem heals dental diseases; the root or grain dries out abscesses and even prevents their formation if worn on the body. For internal use in in kind Henbane causes nervous attacks. Prepared in a certain way, it can lead to fatal results even at a distance. Henbane root is useful for gout, and juice is useful for liver diseases.

Medications:
Dry henbane powder is brown in color and contains 0.3% alkaloids. Higher doses for adults: single - 0.1 g, daily - 0.3 g.
As an external rub for myositis and neuralgia, henbane oil extract is used: a mixture of dried henbane leaves, alcohol, ammonia solution, sunflower oil.
For rubbing, in the same cases as other henbane preparations, use bleached oil with chloroform: bleached oil 10 parts, chloroform 5 parts.
Henbane poultices are useful for abdominal pain.
If you carry a whole plant on you, you can relieve nervous tension.
The smoke of henbane grains causes a state of extraordinary excitement, bliss, weightlessness and a feeling of flight, anger.

Contraindications:
The plant is highly poisonous. You can use henbane preparations only under the supervision of a doctor.
Acute henbane poisoning is characterized by agitation, sharp dilation of the pupils, dryness and redness of the skin of the face and neck, hoarse voice, rapid pulse, headache and thirst. Providing first aid to a victim of henbane consists of immediately flushing the stomach with water and using activated carbon internally.

Photos and illustrations:

Poisonous and widespread wild plant. Black henbane is found throughout the European part of Russia, Central Asia, Western Siberia, and North Africa. It grows in weedy places, next to roads, near dwellings.

This is a biennial plant, in which in the first year of life a rosette of basal, notched-pinnately-incised leaves of an elongated-ovate shape is formed. The leaves have a grayish tint, pubescent with long hairs, and have veins. The roots of henbane are thick, the main root is yellowish-brown in color. Numerous lateral roots extend from it. In shape and color they resemble the roots of parsnip or parsley, but differ in branching.

In the second year of life, henbane develops branched, pubescent stems up to 1 meter high with sessile leaves. In the upper part of the stem, the leaves are smaller and turn into bracts, in which large flowers are formed. The calyx is pitcher-shaped, sticky, hairy, with five spiny, sharp lobes. The corolla is dirty yellow with dark purple veins. There are five stamens, one pistil, consisting of two carpels.

Flowers and leaves have an unpleasant odor, especially when crushed. Black henbane blooms from June to autumn, but already in the summer you can see a lot of dry fruits on it - boxes that look like a jug with a lid widened towards the bottom. If you remove the lid, then inside the ripened fruit you can see many greyish-black, flat, slightly kidney-shaped seeds, 1-1.5 mm long and about 1.2 mm wide. Henbane is very fertile: one plant can produce up to 446 thousand seeds, which are similar in size and shape to poppy seeds.

Henbane poisoning is accompanied by headaches, dizziness, dilated pupils of the eyes, redness of the skin, anxiety, sometimes turning into mania, and hallucination. Fainting occurs, and sometimes death from cardiac paralysis. To reduce the effect of toxic substances on the nervous system, the patient is given oil to drink.

Black henbane photo:

Henbane is at the same time a very valuable medicinal plant. It was known to the ancient peoples - the Babylonians, Egyptians, Hindus, Persians and Arabs. The drug from henbane was used in ancient Greece, Rome, and in the Middle Ages henbane was used to replace chloroform during operations. It has been especially widely used in medicine since the mid-19th century. Medicinal properties Henbane is due to the presence of very toxic substances in it - hyoscyamine and scopolamine. A preparation is made from dry leaves of henbane "Astmatol", which is recommended for patients with bronchial asthma. Henbane oil, i.e. Extract made from sunflower oil treats gout and rheumatism.

To make medicines, plant leaves are used, which are collected during flowering in dry weather and dried, spread in a thin layer in the attic.

After working with henbane, you should wash your hands well. The entire plant is poisonous.

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