Datura stramonium L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 160-161

Datura stramonium L.

Names.

Myanmar: padaing-khat-ta, padaing-nyo. English: Jamestown weed, jimson weed, mad apple, moonflower, stinkwort, stramonium, thorn apple.

Range.

Native of Mexico; now pantropical. Cultivated in Myanmar.

Uses.

Leaf: Used as a sedative and antiasthmatic. Liquid from crushed leaves taken with skimmed milk will cure gonorrhea. Crushed leaves mixed with turmeric powder can be used as a poultice to cure breast inflammation or boils in the breasts of women. Sun-dried leaves are incorporated into a smoking cheroot to treat asthma. Roasted and applied to cure inflammation of the joints and aching of bones. Seed: Used in the treatment of gonorrhea and dyspepsia. Crushed, ground, and pressed onto the gum to cure toothaches. Seed powder is soaked in sesamum oil for seven days; oil is applied and covered with a thin bandage to cure headaches, aching eyes, backache, leg and foot problems; oil is brushed onto the suprapubic region for menstrual cramps and aches. Root: To cure a patient with rabies, a root paste is given orally followed by eating dried roasted beef. Seed and Root: Used as a tonic to increase virility.

Notes.

Medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Indigenous medicinal uses of this species in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) are described by Dagar and Singh (1999).

Datura has been prescribed as a homeopathic remedy for nymphomania; it was utilized by Native American Algonquins of the eastern United States to induce long-term amnesia in coming-of-age ceremonies; and,"atropine, one of the main alkaloids present in Datura , is absorbable through the skin, a property that is critical to the herb’s use by witches [in the Middle Ages], who made an ointment or salve with datura as its main ingredient and then applied it to their bodies [often to the sensitive vaginal membranes]" in order to produce sensations of flying and various hallucinations ( Mann 1993). This plant contains scopolamine, a compound which is commercially extracted from Datura inoxia (see Note under that species) for use in the treatment of motion sickness (e.g., seasickness, airsickness, carsickness) to prevent vomiting and nausea ( Davis 1983). The main alkaloid in this species is hyosciamine, the levo-form of atropine; it is a natural anticholinergic with sedative properties ( Mors et al. 2000).

The medicinal uses of this plant in the Caribbean region, as well as its chemistry, biological activity, toxicity, and dosages, are discussed by Germosén-Robineau (1997). A pharmacognostical profile including medicinal uses of this plant in Africa is given in Iwu (1993). The toxic properties, symptoms, treatment, and beneficial uses of this plant, parts of which are poisonous, are discussed by Nellis (1997).

Worldwide medicinal usage, chemical constituents, and toxicity of this species are discussed by Duke (1986). A powder or tincture of this plant is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in Europe, and a preparation of the plant in alcohol is used in China and Korea as an anesthetic ( Neptune-Rouzier 1997). Details of the active chemical compounds, effects, herbal usage, and pharmacological literature of this plant are given in Fleming (2000). Toxicity of this species is discussed by Bruneton (1999).

References.

Nordal (1963), Agricultural Corporation (1980), Forest Department (1999).