WHAT IS BELLADONNA?This is an extremely poisonous plant,hence it's common name 'deadlynightshade'. Its shiny black berries maylook appetising, but many a poor soulhas met their maker due to an ill-fatedchomp on the 'devil's cherries'.

Belladonna also had a place in thewitches' potions of medieval Europe.The plant contains atropine, analkaloid substance that causes nerveparalysis. It is used in western medicineto stop painful spasms.

Its botanical name derives from one ofthe three Fates, Atropos, who inGreek mythology cuts the threadof life. One of the plant's popularnames is deadly nightshade, andcertainly to use it as a home remedywould be deadly folly. Yet despite sucha deservedly grim reputation, thisplant is universally known asbelladonna, or "fair lady" in Italian.According to one story, the namecomes from the plant's use long ago byItalian women, who dropped the juice intheir eyes to enlarge the pupils and maketheir eyes more beautiful.

HAHNEMANN &BELLADONNADuring an outbreak of scarlet fever,three children of four in a familyunder Hahnemann care became ill.

The fourth, who was usually the firstto become ill, remained free from

disease. Hahnemann reasoned that sincethe child had been taking Belladonna for an affectionof the finger joints, she was in some way protectedfrom the infection. Soon afterward, in a family of eightchildren with three already infected with scarlet fever,Hahnemann seized the opportunity to test theprophylactic powers of Belladonna. As he hadhypothesized, all five escaped the disease despiteongoing exposure to their siblings. Hahnemanncontinued to make frequent use of Belladonna duringthis epidemic with great success. So great was hissuccess that many old-school physicians adopted histreatment protocol and began singing the praises ofhomeopathic Belladonna. Dudgeon reports on tenallopaths of this time who used prophylacticBelladonna on 1646 children with only 123 casesdeveloped. Pretty strong results when the attack rateswere ranging as high as 90% at the time.

Deadly nightshade,devil's cherries, blackcherry, naughty man'scherries, devil's herb.

THEHOMEOPATHICPREPARATIONAll parts of the belladonnaplant are gathered for usein the homeopathicremedy. The plant is crushedand pressed, and theextracted juice is mixed withalcohol in an extremely dilutepreparation.

The chemicalsubstanceatropine inbelladonnadoes affect theeye, and eyedoctors todayuse it to dilatethe pupils so thatthey can examine the retina.Belladonna contains two othervaluable substances, scopolamine andhyoscyamine, which, like atropine, aresedatives and act to relax smoothmuscle. Individually or in combination,the constituents of belladonna(obtained from the leaves and root) arethe basic ingredients in a variety ofantispasmodics commonly prescribedtoday to treat intestinal disorders suchas diarrhoea, irritable colon, and pepticulcer.

Excessive dosage can result inrespiratory paralysis, coma, and death.

BelladonnaThe Plant and The History

DESCRIPTION ANDWHERE IT GROWS:A perennial, belladonna standsbetween two and six feet in height,with two or three branches and apurplish stem. Leaves are darkgreen and three to ten inches long.Bell-shaped flowers are darkpurple. When crushed, thebelladonna gives off a strongodour. All parts of belladonna arepoisonous in the extreme.Belladonna is native to Europe,western Asia, and northern Africa,and is now cultivated worldwide. Itthrives in chalky soils, in woods,and on waste ground. The leavesare harvested in summer, and theroot is collected from the first yearonward in autumn.

Parts used: Pulped leaves andflowers.