Textbook of pharmacognosy and phytochemistry 1st Edition unsecured

194 TEXTBOOK OF PHARMACOGNOSY AND PHYTOCHEMISTRY
Uses
It is a narcotic, antispasmodic and anodyne drug and used
to relieve the spasm of the bronchioles in asthma. The
leaves are ingredient of Pulvis stramonii compositus and other
powders used for the relief of asthma. The leaves may be
made into cigarettes or smoked in a pipe to relieve asthma.
They are also used in the treatment of parkinsonism,
boils, sores and fish bites. The flower juice is used to treat
earache.
The fruit juice is applied to the scalp for curing dandruff
and falling hair. Stramonium ointment, containing
lanolin, yellow wax and petroleum, is employed to cure
haemorrhoids.
Marketed Products
It is one of the ingredients of the preparation known as
Maharasayan vati (Mahaved healthcare).
HYOSCYAMUS
Synonyms
Common Henbane, Hyoscyamus, Hog’s-bean, Jupiter’sbean,
Symphonica, Cassilata, Cassilago, Deus Caballinus.
Biological Source
Hyoscyamus consists of the dried leaves and flowering
tops of Hyoscyamus niger Linn., belonging to family Solanaceae.
It contains not less than 0.05% alkaloids, calculated
as hyoscyamine.
Geographical Source
It is found throughout Central and Southern Europe and in
Western Asia, extending to India and Siberia. As a weed of
cultivation it now grows also in North America and Brazil.
Apart from these countries, it grows in Scotland, England
and Wales and also in Ireland, and has been found wild in
60 British countries.
History
The medicinal uses of Henbane date from Ancients times,
being particularly commended by Dioscorides (first century
A.D.), who used it to procure sleep and allay pains, and
Celsus (same period) and others made use of it for the same
purpose, internally and externally. This use is mentioned
in a work by Benedictus Crispus (A.D. 681) under the
names of Hyoscyamus and Symphonica. There is frequent
mention made of it in Anglo Saxon works on medicine
of the eleventh century, in which it is named ‘Henbell’,
and in the old glossaries of those days it also appears as
Caniculata, Cassilago and Deus Caballinus.
Later it was not used. It was omitted from the London
Pharmacopoeia of 1746 and 1788, and only restored in
1809; its reintroduction being chiefly due to experiments
and recommendations by Baron Storch, who gave it in the
form of an extract, in cases of epilepsy and other nervous
and convulsive diseases.
Cultivation and Collection
Drug is usually obtained from cultivated biennial herb.
Henbane will grow on most soils, in sandy spots near the
sea, on chalky slopes, and in cultivation flourishing in a good
loam, It requires a light, moderately rich and well-drained
soil for successful growth and an open, sunny situation,
but does not want much attention beyond keeping the
ground free from weeds. The seed should be sown in the
open, early in May or as soon as the ground is warm, as
thinly as possible, in rows 2–2.5 feet apart, the seedlings
thinned out to 2 feet apart in the rows, as they do not
stand transplanting well. In order to more readily ensure
germination, it is advisable to soak the seeds in water for
24 h before planting the unfertile seeds will then float on
the top of the water and may thus be distinguished. Ripe
seed should be grey, and yellowish or brown seeds should
be rejected, as they are immature. Let the seeds dry and
then sift out the smallest, using only the larger seeds. Only
the larger seedlings should be reserved, especially those
of a bluish tint. The soil where the crop is to be, must
have been well manured, and must be kept moist until
the seeds have germinated, and also during May and June
of the first year. It is also recommended to sow seeds of
biennial Henbane at their natural ripening time, August,
in porous soil.
The ground must never be water-logged, drought and
late frosts stunt the growth and cause it to blossom too
early, and if the climatic conditions are unsuitable, especially
in a dry spring and summer, the biennial Henbane
will flower in its’ first year, while the growth is quite low,
but well manured soil may prevent this. Much of the
efficacy of Henbane depends upon the time at which it is
gathered. The leaves should be collected when the plant
is in full flower. In the biennial plant, those of the second
year are preferred to those of the first; the latter are less
clammy and foetid, yield less extractive, and are medicinally
considered less efficient. The leaves of the biennial
variety are collected in June or the first week of July and
those of the annual in August. They are dried at 40–50°C
in drying sheds, heated from outside. The dried drug is
stored in airtight containers at low temperature, protected
from light and moisture.
Characteristics
Both varieties are used in medicine, but the biennial form
is the one considered official. The leaves of this biennial
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