The plant is poisonous.
Application
Against Colic-like discomfort in the gastrointestinal system and in the biliary tract.
Gallberries are known to have been grown in the apothecary garden in Nykøbing Falster around 1658. The root was used against whooping cough, while both the root and leaves were used against swelling, melancholy, epilepsy and cramps. The plant was also used as a painkiller:
Leaves were applied to painful boils and wounds, while extract alleviated pain in the stomach and urinary tract.
The highly poisonous plant was used in poison potions and was also used in witches' ointments to induce hallucinations and dream visions. Hallucinations are one of the symptoms caused by ingestion.
Today, ophthalmologists use atropine to dilate pupils before surgery. Extracts from the plant are used medicinally, including to reduce the production of saliva and mucus from the respiratory tract before anesthesia and prior to surgery.
Ingredients
Tropane alkaloids mainly hyoscyamine and atropine
Atropa belladonna L.
Photo of page in Joachim Burser's herbarium.
