The peculiar property of henbane is marked by its tendency to produce a general paralysis of the nervous system. The root has been eaten by mistake for parsnips, when all the foregoing symptoms were present. The seeds are more poisonous than the roots, the leaves being the least poisonous part of the plant.
Post-mortem Appearances.—The morbid appearances are not unlike those which result from poisoning with belladonna.
Fatal Dose.—Nothing certain can be stated as to the amount required to cause death. Alarming symptoms are said to have followed the administration of ten minims of the tincture, repeated every six hours. Twenty of the seeds have caused active delirium. Idiosyncrasy may have something to do with this result. Half a drachm of the tincture is often given to an adult, and repeated every four hours, without any unpleasant result.
Treatment.—As for belladonna, emetics and purgatives, to expel the poison from the system.
STRAMONIUM
The Thorn Apple, Datura Stramonium (N.O. Solanaceæ), possesses powerful poisonous properties. These are marked by the production of giddiness, impairment of vision, and syncope. Furious delirium is not infrequent; and in one case where this state was present there was loss of speech. The face is usually flushed, the eyes glistening and restless, and the pupils dilated; in short, the countenance is that of one intoxicated. Taken together, the symptoms are not unlike those produced by belladonna.
Poisoning by stramonium seeds is a favourite mode of procedure among the Hindoos; but as the poison is most frequently given to facilitate robbery, death seldom results from its use. In India, the seeds are mixed with the boiled rice so commonly eaten there, and as they closely resemble the seeds of the common capsicum, the dangerous nature of the mixture is not readily detected. The seeds of the datura can be distinguished by the taste, which is slightly bitter, whereas that of the capsicum is hot and pungent. The outward application of the leaves may give rise to all the appearances of poisoning.
The active principle of stramonium is the alkaloid Daturine, which crystallises in colourless quadrangular prisms, with a bitter acrid taste. It resembles atropine and hyoscyamine in chemical properties.
Post-mortem Appearances.—Congestion of the vessels of the brain and its membranes, with some slight gastric irritation.
Treatment.—As for belladonna, emetics and purgatives, to get rid of the portions of the plant swallowed.