Biomaterial Database

Solanaceae IV: Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade. 2007

M R Lee

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna, is a plant surrounded by myth, fear and awe. In antiquity, the Greeks and the Romans knew that it contained a deadly poison. In medieval times, it was widely used by witches, sorcerors and professional poisoners. Linnaeus later codified its remarkable properties as the genus Atropa, the Fate that slits the thin spun life and the species belladonna because of its power to dilate the pupils. In the 1830s, the pure alkaloid I-atropine was isolated from the plant. This proved to be a significant tool in the study of the autonomic nervous system leading to the identification of acetylcholine as an important neurotransmitter in mammals. When pure atropine became available, it caused a large number of deaths, whether by accident, suicide or homicide.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009229	Mythology	A body of stories, the origins of which may be unknown or forgotten, that explain practices, beliefs, institutions or natural phenomena. Mythology includes legends and folk tales. It may refer to classical mythology or to a body of modern thought and modern life. (From Webster's 1st ed)
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001285	Atropine	An alkaloid, originally from Atropa belladonna, but found in other plants, mainly SOLANACEAE. Hyoscyamine is the 3(S)-endo isomer of atropine.	AtroPen,Atropin Augenöl,Atropine Sulfate,Atropine Sulfate Anhydrous,Atropinol,Anhydrous, Atropine Sulfate,Augenöl, Atropin,Sulfate Anhydrous, Atropine,Sulfate, Atropine
D001532	Atropa belladonna	A plant species of the genus ATROPA, family SOLANACEAE that contains ATROPINE; SCOPOLAMINE; BELLADONNA ALKALOIDS and other SOLANACEOUS ALKALOIDS. Some species in this genus are called deadly nightshade which is also a common name for SOLANUM.	Belladonna,Atropa belladonnas,Belladonnas,belladonna, Atropa
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History