Belladonna herb consists of dried leaves and other aerial parts of Atropa belladonna Linn. from the Solanaceae family. It is found in England, Europe, and the western Himalayas of India. Belladonna is cultivated at altitudes of 1400 m from crushed berries. The leaves are harvested and dried while retaining their green color. Belladonna contains alkaloids like hyoscyamine and atropine and is used as a sedative, to treat asthma, colic, motion sickness, and pain.

2. SUBJECT:PHARMACOGNOCY
TOPIC: BALLADONNA HERB
SUBMITTED TO:
GOWRI SHANKAR SIR
PRESENTED BY:
SHAIK MOWLALI

3. SYNONYMS:Belladonna leaf, Belladonna herb.
BIOLOGICAL SOURCE:
It consists of dried leaves and other aerial parts of
atropa belladonna Linn.
FAMILY: solanaceae
GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE:
England, Europe. In india, it is found in the
western himalayas from simla to kasmir &
adjoining areas of Himachal pradesh.

8. Cultivation of belladonna at an altitude of 1400
m from sea level is found to be satisfactory.
Belladonna berries are curshed to get the seeds
for cultivation.
Proper processing like washing and sieving is
performed.
Only healthy seeds are used for cultivation.
Seeds are sown by broadcasting method in well
prepared beds with the application of fungicide
like diathon.
Sowing is done in may & july

9. The seedlings are ready for transplantation by
the end of September.
Transplanting is done by keeping certain distance
between two plants & the seedlings are irrigated
carefully.
Fertilizers like urea, potash & superphosphate are
given as per the needs.
Insecticidal sprays like sevin are also tried when
the plant reaches maturity.
The leaves,as well as, the flowering tops are cut
& sundried (or)dried in shade.

10. During drying, care is taken to retain the green
colour.
While grading and packing for market, woolly
stems and foreign organic matter are rejected.
The yield per hectare is found to be 200 to 600kg

11. Colour:
Leaves are greenish brown.
Odour:
Slight & characteristic.
Taste: Bitter.

12. Dorsiventral leaf
Collenchyma above & below the mid rib
Unicellular covering trichomes, unicellular
glandular trichomes
Microsphaenoidal calcium oxalate crystals

14. The total alkaloidal content of drug is 0.4 to 1%
& varies in different parts of plant roots (0.6),
stems (0.05%), leaves (0.4%), unripe & ripe
berries (0.19-0.21%) & seeds (0.33%).
The main alkaloids are l-hyoscyamine & its
racemic form atropine.
The drug also contains belladonine, scopoletin,
hyoscine, pyridine & N-methyl pyrroline.
The later two are the volatile bases.

16. Belladonna is used as a sedative, to stop bronchial
spasms in asthma and whooping cough, and as a
cold and hay fever remedy.
It is also used for Parkinson's disease, (is a brain
disorder that causes a gradual loss of muscle
control.)colic, motion sickness, and as a painkiller.
Belladonna is used in ointments that are applied to
the skin for joint pain (rheumatism), leg pain caused
by a disc in the backbone pushing on the sciatic
nerve (sciatica), and nerve pain (neuralgia).

17. Belladonna is also used in plasters (medicine-filled
gauze applied to the skin) for treating psychiatric
disorders, a behavior disorder called hyperkinesis,
 excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis), and bronchial
asthma.