The (Datura) are a kind of the family of the night shade plants (Solanaceae) and consist world-wide of approximately 20 kinds, which are strongly poisonous all.

Spreading, origin

Kinds of the kind Datura grow everywhere except in polar and subpolaren climate zones. Some kinds originate from Asia, other one from America. With now kosmopolitischen kinds, like Datura stramonium, the original origin is uncertain. The generic name Datura comes over the Portuguese from an Indian language, see Hindi dhatura. The name is already in the Sanskrit occupied as dhattura.

Systematics

The kind contained in former times also those meanwhile as own kind of set off angel trumpets (Brugmansia).

• Datura bernhardii C.E. Lundstr.
• Datura ceratocaula Ortega
• Datura discolor Bernh.
• Thorny Stechapfel Datura ferox L.
• Datura inoxia Mill.
• Datura kymatocarpa A.S. Barclay
• Datura lanosa A.S. Barclay ex Bye
• Datura leichhardtii F. garbage. ex Benth.
• Datura metel L.
• Datura quercifolia Kunth
• Datura reburra A.S. Barclay
• Common Stechapfel Datura stramonium L.
• Datura wrightii rule

Culture, use

In native-American cultures the plants had both ceremonies and medical meaning.

are used for thousands of years as Rauschmittel and as herb. Thus dried sheets were converted to asthma cigarettes.

Apart from the medical meaning and Datura was used for the consciousness change. Zuni priests used the plant, in order to contact the spirit of the ancestors or to determine the identity from thieves to. The plant was brought in Europe also with the flight ointment in connection.

Since Stechapfel is considered as aphrodisiac, Datura in Europe, China and Peru beverages was added such as beer.

Nowadays Datura become spp. mainly as ornamental plants uses, since your blooms are very beautiful. This use public places go off however because of the Giftigkeit of the plant increasingly. The plant is confounded frequently with the angel trumpets.

Modern therapeutic employment

All Datura kinds contain poisonous alkaloids, essentially Hyoscyamin and scopolamine. (White) the Stechapfel is used for the production of the alkaloids. It is used rarely as with asthma bronchiale and whooping cough or as ejection-promoting means with bronchitis, whereby with application it is to be always noted that the school medicine makes more effective and safer medicines available when these illnesses.

Effects

Warning

The consumption of parts of the Stechapfels can lead to heavy and hardly controllable hallucinations. It can come to Horrortrips and self injuries. Many consumers report that the consumption was extremely unpleasant compared to other drugs. The intoxication effect can stop several days.

Since however on the one hand the limit values of berauschender and toxic dose very close lie together and on the other hand the active substance content varies in the Datura (during variable active substance composition) drastically between 0,2% and 0,4%, very fast heaviest poisonings can occur, which can end due to the high toxicity of the materials also easily deadly. The plant is in all parts strongly malicious, particularly by the alkaloids scopolamine and Hyoscyamin (see Atropa). The lethal dose is with scopolamine with 50 mg, already lower doses can death by breath paralysis cause.

With poisonings immediately an emergency surgeon is to be informed.

Poisoning symptoms: Skin turning red, dry mouth, unrest, and/or hallucinations, confusion, pupil dilation, and conditions, unconsciousness and death by breath paralysis.

Literature

• Preissel, Ulrike and Hans George: Angel trumpets, Brugmansia and Datura. Publishing house Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-6614-3
• Schuldes, Bert Marco: Psychoaktive plants. Night shade publishing house, ISBN 3-9258-1764-6

Related links

• The poison plant Stechapfel
• The poison plant Indian Stechapfel
• http://www.drug-infopool.de/rauschmittel/stechapfel.html

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