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Hyoscyamine

Scopolamine and its biochemical precursor hyoscyamine are deadly-nightshade alkaloids that are also found in other plants of the Solanaceae family such as mandrake, jimsonweed, and tomato. Hyoscyamine is the enantiomer of the well-known nightshade alkaloid atropine. Both alkaloids are extremely poisonous and have hallucinogenic effects. (Mandrake is sometimes called “insane root”.) They are anticholinergics, and, when used in small doses, they have medical uses such as treating gastrointestinal disorders. Plant extracts containing them have been used medicinally and ritually since biblical times or earlier.

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Articles of Interest

Hyoscyamine Patient Tips

Hyoscyamine may be used in the treatment of a wide variety of gastrointestinal problems including cramps, bladder control issues, and irritable bowel syndrome. Drowsiness and dry mouth are common side effects.

Hyoscyamine Sublingual Tablets

HYOSCYAMINE (hye oh SYE a meen) treats the symptoms of many conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stomach ulcers, and bladder spasms. It works by relaxing the muscles in your digestive tract and bladder. It also reduces the amount of sweat, saliva, and stomach acid your body makes. It belongs to a group of medications called antispasmodics.

Black Henbane – the Witches’ Favourite

Known as the ‘witches plant’, henbane had great importance during the Middle Ages, being used by magicians and healers in ritual purifications by smoke as well as in the preparation of concoctions, love philtres and ‘flying ointments’. Atropine, one of the alkaloids found in henbane and other Solanaceae species, can be easily absorbed through the skin when mixed with fat or oil and rubbed to the body. Exposure to this ointment, applied mainly to the armpits or the genital area, produced the sensation of flying. Administered rectally after smearing on a stick or pole, this is reputedly the reason why witches are often depicted as flying on broomsticks.

Resources

10 Hyoscyamine Side Effects You Should Know About

Hyoscyamine (Levsin, Anaspaz) is a medication that’s been around since the 1800s. Because it was developed before the FDA was created, it’s technically an unapproved drug. This means we don’t have the same safety information for hyoscyamine as we do for most FDA-approved medications. Hyoscyamine is an anticholinergic medication. It blocks a chemical called acetylcholine (ACh) from working in the body. This can help treat a variety of symptoms, such as bladder spasms, irritable bowel syndrome, and stomach cramps. But blocking ACh can also cause several side effects.

BuzzRx

Hyoscyamine is not a painkiller. It belongs to a group of medications called anticholinergic drugs. Hyoscyamine is used to treat stomach and bladder problems. This medication may, however, provide relief from symptoms such as stomach cramps, gallbladder pain, kidney pain, and bladder spasms.

WikEM

Mechanism of Action. Antagonizes acetylcholine receptors...