What Is the Source of the Drug Hyoscyamine?

Hyoscyamine, an alkaloid drug compound used mainly to treat stomach and intestinal problems (and sold under various brand names) comes from the roots, leaves and seeds of various flowering psychoactive plants. Specifically, it is extracted from numerous species within the Solanaceae family, chief among them the highly poisonous henbane, mandrake, deadly nightshade and jimson weed plants.

Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)

• Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) was first used medicinally during the first century A.D., when it served as a sleep aid and pain reliever. Its use continued for several centuries after that, though it was a controversial drug due to its inebriating quality---one ancient pharmacologist said that it was "of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding." In addition to being used medicinally, henbane has also been abused as a recreational drug, leading in some cases to coma or even death.

  Both the leaves and seeds of henbane contain significant quantities of hyoscyamine, as well as other alkaloids like hyoscine and atropine. In fact, hyoscyamine is the chief constituent of the leaves, and depending on the species of plant, the concentration can be so great as to make medicinal use dangerous.

Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum)

• As with henbane, the medicinal use of mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) dates to the first century. It was considered almost as potent a narcotic as opium, and the two were commonly used as pain relievers. During the Middle Ages, mandrake had many uses in both medicine and dentistry. For example, mandrake root was often a key ingredient in dental fillings, pastes, patches and gargles. Also, the leaves could be made into dressings that were laid directly onto a person's face in order to relieve eye pains. Mandrake, along with opium and henbane, could even be made into a vapor that a patient would inhale prior to operations such as circumcision or amputation.

  The roots of the mandrake plant are especially noted for their high concentration of hyoscyamine.

Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna)

• While the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) has many important uses in medicine today---especially in the treatment of eye diseases---for centuries it was known merely as a deathly poisonous plant to be avoided at all costs. For many decades, it has been notorious for its sweet, cherry-like berries and their attraction to young children, who have died from eating them. Every part of the plant is toxic, and the toxins are absorbed not only orally but also through cuts and scrapes in the skin during handling.

  Hyoscyamine is the most abundant alkaloid chemical to be found in the deadly nightshade, but not the most poisonous. The roots and leaves both contain significant quantities of hyoscyamine, but roots are more commonly harvested for medicinal use than are leaves.

Jimson Weed (Datura Stramonium)

• Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) is a noxious weed found throughout the world. It commonly grows in places with large amounts of refuse and other waste, such as barnyards, docks, timber-yards and around roadsides. It has an unpleasant stench, hence its having acquired the nickname "stinkweed." It doesn't pose much danger to livestock because its rank odor and foul taste repel them. It is known to be extremely toxic to humans, leading to symptoms such as dilated pupils, dimmed eyesight, giddiness, delirium and even death. Every part of Datura stramonium is both poisonous and valuable medicinally, and the plant has become a leading treatment for spasmodic asthma.

  Hyoscyamine exists in the plant's leaves, roots and seeds.

Summary

• The drug compound hyoscyamine comes from a number of psychoactive, extremely poisonous plants. Directly consuming these plants---which include henbane, mandrake, deadly nightshade and jimson weed---would be a dangerous mistake. But the hyoscyamine that they contain is vital to modern medicine. Many important drug therapies used to treat gastrointestinal problems, among other conditions, would not exist without it.