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Botanical plate of Claviceps purpurea (ergot) on rye, Köhler 1887

© Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887) · Public domain · Commons

Ergot

Toxic🐾

Mutterkorn · (Claviceps purpurea)

Clavicipitaceae (Clavicipitaceae)

Description

A blackish-purple, horn-shaped sclerotium replaces individual grains on ripening rye ears, typically visible between June and August, marking this fungus among the ergot relatives. Its sclerotia contain ergotamine, ergometrine and lysergic acid – alkaloids that medical history used, under strict control, to manage postpartum bleeding, induce labour, and later to treat migraine, though always as standardised pharmaceuticals under clinical supervision. Eating cereal contaminated with ergot, by contrast, triggers ergotism (St. Anthony's fire): a gangrenous form with severe vasoconstriction, burning pain and loss of limbs, and a convulsive form with seizures, hallucinations and nerve damage. Historical epidemics caused numerous deaths. Ergot is highly toxic, and any self-use of the fungus or its sclerotia is life-threatening; this entry is presented purely for botanical and historical information.

Historical documentation only — do NOT use

These internal applications are historically documented. This plant is highly toxic — self-treatment can cause severe poisoning or death. For documentation only, explicitly NOT a recommendation.

  • TinctureInternalClinical trial

    Ergot preparations were traditionally used to induce labor and control bleeding after childbirth; ergometrine, isolated in 1935, is used for postpartum hemorrhage because it contracts the uterus. Only as a tested medicine under medical supervision.

    Sources: [1] [3]

  • TinctureInternalClinical trial

    Ergotamine and dihydroergotamine are used against acute migraine attacks because of their vasoconstrictive action — as prescription medicines.

    Sources: [1] [2]
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