Products
Datura extracts are hardly used pharmaceutically today. Alternative medicine preparations such as homeopathics and the pure ingredients such as atropine and scopolamine are an exception.
Stem plant
Datura L. of the nightshade family (Solanaceae).
Medicinal drug
Stramonium leaves (Stramonii folium) are used as a medicinal raw material, the dried leaves or from the dried leaves with flowering and occasionally fruiting branch tips of L. and its varieties (PhEur). The PhEur requires a minimum content of alkaloids. Also used are the datura seeds (Stramonii semen, the dried seeds of the plant. However, they are no longer listed in the pharmacopoeia (non-official).
Preparations
- Stramonii pulvis normatus PhEur
- Pulvis Stramonii compositus PH 5 (asthma powder)
Ingredients
The ingredients relevant to the effect are the tropane alkaloids such as atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine.
Effects
Jimson weed has parasympatholytic (anticholinergic) properties, meaning it cancels the effects of the parasympathetic nervous system.
Indications for use
Datura is a poisonous plant and should not be used by patients as a phytotherapeutic agent. Preparations and extracts of datura are rarely used today. In the past, they were used, for example, for asthma (asthma cigarettes, asthma powder) and other respiratory diseases.
Abuse
The plant parts are abused as hallucinogens, for example, by young people who like to experiment. For detailed information, see the article Datura poisoning.
Adverse effects
For detailed information on adverse effects and poisoning, see the article on Datura Poisoning.
