Sunday, May 22, 2011

Belladonna deadly poisonous....


UFO - Belladonna


spilling crimson says....
Belladonna is supposed to have been the plant that poisoned the troops of Marcus Antonius during the Parthian wars. Plutarch gives a graphic account of the strange effects that followed its use.

The generic name of the plant, Atropa, is derived from the Greek Atropos, one of the Fates who held the shears to cut the thread of human life - a reference to its deadly, poisonous nature.



The medicinal properties of Belladonna depend on the presence of Hyoscyamine and Atropine. The root is the basis of the principal preparations of Belladonna.



Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as BelladonnaDevil's BerriesDeath Cherries or Deadly Nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Europe,North Africa, and Western Asia. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include scopolamine and hyoscyamine which cause a bizarre delirium and hallucinations, and are also used as pharmaceutical anticholinergics. The drug atropine is derived from the plant.

Deadly nightshade
undefined
Illustration from Köhler's Medicinal Plants 1887
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
(unranked):Angiosperms
(unranked):Eudicots
(unranked):Asterids
Order:Solanales
Family:Solanaceae
Genus:Atropa
Species:A. belladonna
Binomial name
Atropa belladonna
L.
Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as BelladonnaDevil's BerriesDeath 

The name of the species comes from Latin and means a “pretty woman”. The reason was that, in the past, women used to treat their faces with belladonna. As a result, their cheeks turned red and a peculiar brightness appeared in their eyes. However, belladonna is deadly poisonous. This fact has been well known since ancient times. The tincture of belladonna leaves used to be one of the most popular poisons among professionals. It was believed that the famous Roman poisoner Locusta killed the Roman emperor Claudius with her deadly weapon–a tincture of belladonna. She was imprisoned and sentenced to death in 68 AD for having committed this crime. According to some legends, Scottish warriors succeeded in defending their country from Danish conquerors leaving them a special booty–barrels of beer poisoned with sap of belladonna. Another story tells about ancient Gaelic tribes that used belladonna before a battle–as a “herb of courage” that stimulated them to fly into a rage.