© H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Hyoscyamus niger
Toxic🐾Schwarzes Bilsenkraut · (Hyoscyamus niger)
Nightshade family (Solanaceae)
Description
Henbane is a poisonous plant belonging to tribe Hyoscyameae of the nightshade family Solanaceae. Henbane is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland.
CONTRAINDICATED during pregnancy
Scopolamine and hyoscyamine cross the placental barrier and can cause fetal tachycardia and CNS damage. Any exposure during pregnancy is strictly contraindicated.
CONTRAINDICATED during breastfeeding
Tropane alkaloids pass into breast milk and can trigger anticholinergic effects in the infant. Breastfeeding: strictly contraindicated.
CONTRAINDICATED for children
Children are extremely sensitive to tropane alkaloids. Any exposure is absolutely contraindicated.
Critical drug interactions with:
Anticholinergika (Tiotropium, Ipratropium, Oxybutynin, Darifenacin)
- TinctureSeedExternalFolk medicine
Folk medicinal external application of henbane oil extracts for rheumatism and neuralgic pain. Seeds were boiled in olive oil and the oil rubbed onto painful joints. This application is documented since antiquity (Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder) and was long considered an analgesic.
Preparation & dosage
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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.
- InhalationLeafInternalFolk medicine
Folk medicinal inhalation of henbane smoke for bronchial asthma and whooping cough. Dried leaves were burned on coals and the smoke inhaled. Historically widespread in Europe and the Orient — anticholinergic bronchodilation as the mechanism of action. Now obsolete due to toxicity.
Preparation & dosage
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- TinctureLeafInternalTraditional use
Historical pharmaceutical use of hyoscyamine/scopolamine extracts from henbane as preoperative sedative and to reduce bronchial secretions before anesthesia. Henbane tincture was included in pharmacopoeias until the mid-20th century. Now replaced by pure isolates (scopolamine TTS, atropine injection).
Preparation & dosage
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- TinctureAerial partsInternalFolk medicine
Homeopathic use of Hyoscyamus (D6–C30) for states of agitation and cramps, sleep disorders, and manic-hallucinatory symptom pictures. Pure homeopathic dilutions (from C12) contain no pharmacologically active alkaloid amounts. Widespread in classical homeopathy as a constitutional remedy.
Preparation & dosage
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- RawSeedInternalFolk medicine
Ethnobotanical and shamanic use: henbane seeds were considered a psychoactive substance in northern European and Middle Eastern rituals. Archaeological finds from the Roman Netherlands (Houten-Castellum, 70–100 CE) document intentional seed collection — likely for ritual or medicinal purposes. Also mentioned in medieval witch craft (flying ointment).
Preparation & dosage
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- TinctureLeafInternalFolk medicine
Historical use of henbane in medieval brewing: before the introduction of hops, henbane leaves and seeds were used as intoxicating beer additives (gruit beer). The etymological connection to the city name Pilsen (Plzeň) is debated in scholarship but considered unconfirmed. The Reinheitsgebot (1516) ended this practice in Germany.
Preparation & dosage
- TinctureRootInternalTraditional use
Pharmaceutical source for scopolamine isolates: Hyoscyamus niger is, alongside Duboisia spp., one of the commercial source plants for scopolamine production (motion sickness patches, premedication). Hairy-root cultures and bioreactor technology now enable standardized alkaloid production without wild harvesting.
Preparation & dosage
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