Hyoscyamus niger, or Henbane, is a plant with all parts used medicinally for their multiple
effects: sedative, psychoactive, antineuralgic, antispasmodic, anesthetic, and
soporific. Though recommended against nervous agitation and various types of
pain, the plant is toxic in high doses. Its pharmaceutical use was similar to
that of opium, though it was weaker and did not cause constipation.
Henbane
has a long history of use. The earliest was probably during the Neolithic, in
magic fumigations and drinks that caused visual hallucinations and a sensation
of flight. It is mentioned by Discorides, in his list of Dacian plants. Pliny
the Elder talks of Herba Apollinaris, that some have equated with Henbane: the ancient
Greeks believed that god Apollo himself discovered the plant and offered it to Aesculapius;
it was also consumed by the priestesses of Apollo in his temple at Delphi in order to enter into a trance and prophesize.
In the old pharmacopoeias and natural medicine, the plant
is recommended in various afflictions, among which tooth aches, when leaves or
seeds of Henbane were fumigated into the patient’s mouth or turned into a
concoction that he/she held in the oral cavity. It was also used in
ophthalmology, since it dilates the pupils and contains atropine.
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