Content
- The datura: poisonous and still valued as a garden plant
- The earlier use of the Stechapfels as intoxicants
- The toxins contained in datura and their effects
- Precautions in the culture of the thorn apple
- Tips
The datura seeds are particularly poisonous
The datura: poisonous and still valued as a garden plant
While the exact origin of the datura is quite controversial, it was not least due to the hallucinogenic effect of the plant spread worldwide today. Although the datura is now no longer used medicinally because of its toxicity, the decorative flowers are the reason for the sowing and propagation in many private gardens.
The earlier use of the Stechapfels as intoxicants
In the cultures of many indigenous peoples, parts and extracts of datura have been used as a narcotic in ritual acts because of their hallucinogenic effects. Even in Europe, the datura was known in the Middle Ages as magic herb of the miracle healer and as a compulsory drug in prostitution. However, in most cases the intoxicating effect is overshadowed by the high efficacy of the toxins, which is why the Roman writer Pliny described the datura as the basis for the production of spears. The poisonous effect has also manifested itself in the following colloquial names for the thorn apple:
The toxins contained in datura and their effects
The following toxins are particularly concentrated in the datura in the seeds, but also in all other parts of the plants:
In addition, there are other toxic substances in smaller amounts, which can lead to the following symptoms even at minimum doses:
Precautions in the culture of the thorn apple
Meanwhile, there are attempts to reduce or completely eliminate the concentration of the contained toxins in cultivated forms of datura for growing in the garden. However, if in doubt, you should refrain from growing the datura if you have regular children or pets in your backyard. Also note that the one-year-old thorn apple can proliferate on its own after its first cultivation because of its large number of seeds.
Tips
Due to the current findings on the toxicity of the datura is from any use to therapeutic (apart from professional use in homeopathy) or intoxicating purposes generally discouraged, as well as supposedly low doses due to the fluctuating toxins quickly lead to death by respiratory paralysis.