belladonna (bĕlədŏn`ə) or deadly nightshade, poisonous perennial plant, Atropa belladona, of the nightshade nightshade, common name for the Solanaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and a few trees of warm regions, chiefly tropical America. Many are climbing or creeping types, and rank-smelling foliage is typical of many species.
..... Click the link for more information. family. Native to Europe and now grown in the United States, the plant has reddish, bell-shaped flowers and shiny black berries. Extracts of its leaves and fleshy roots act to dilate the pupils of the eye and were once used cosmetically by women to achieve this effect. (The name belladonna is from the Italian meaning "beautiful lady.") The plant extract contains the alkaloids atropine atropine (ăt`rəpēn, –pĭn)
..... Click the link for more information. , scopolamine scopolamine (skōpŏl`əmēn, –mĭn) or hyoscine
..... Click the link for more information. , and hyoscyamine. Belladonna has also been used since ancient times as a poison and as a sedative; in medieval Europe large doses were used by witchcraft and devil-worship cults to produce hallucinogenic effects. Other species of the potato family such as henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), and Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) also contain one or more of the alkaloids present in belladona. The active substances act physiologically to depress the parasympathetic nervous system nervous system, network of specialized tissue that controls actions and reactions of the body and its adjustment to the environment. Virtually all members of the animal kingdom have at least a rudimentary nervous system.
..... Click the link for more information. . Belladonna is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Solanales, family Solanaceae.

belladonna

Tall, bushy, herbaceous plant, the deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), of the nightshade family; also, the crude drug consisting of its dried leaves or roots. The plant is a native of wooded or waste areas in central and southern Eurasia. It has dull green leaves, violet or greenish flowers, shiny black berries about the size of cherries, and a large, tapering root. Belladonna is highly poisonous and is cultivated for medicinal substances (alkaloids) that are derived from the crude drug and used in sedatives, stimulants, and antispasmodics. Because of toxicity and undesirable side effects, however, these substances are being replaced by synthetic drugs.

belladonna

1. either of two alkaloid drugs, atropine or hyoscyamine, obtained from the leaves and roots of the deadly nightshade

2. another name for deadly nightshade

belladonna [‚bel·ə′dän·ə]

(botany)

Atropa belladonna.A perennial poisonous herb that belongs to the family Solanaceae; atropine is produced from the roots and leaves; used as an antispasmodic, as a cardiac and respiratory stimulant, and to check secretions. Also known as deadly nightshade.

belladonna (redirected from Belladonna (disambiguation))

belladonna

belladonna
(redirected from Belladonna (disambiguation))