Mandrake is rich in very toxic alkaloids, such as atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine, scopine and cuscohygirin. These active ingredients are extremely toxic, they can cause forgetfulness, loss of will, delusions, hallucinations... In low doses they can be used as anesthetics or sedatives, but in high doses they annul the will and cause great delusions and hallucinations, it can even lead to coma and death. We see why it is a prohibited plant, its use is extremely dangerous. Beware of thinking that plants are harmless, it depends on what plants like this can be very dangerous. And even more so because its appearance is beautiful and innocent, it does not make us suspect the toxicity it harbors.
The Mandrake is a rosette-shaped plant, with slightly purple white flowers, which bloom in autumn, hence its name: autumnalis, and create a red fruit full of seeds. It is from the Solanaceae family, like the tomato or the potato. The root of the Mandrake is bulbous and forks into two parts (as if they were two legs), which is why it resembles the shape of a human being. The root is the most toxic part of the plant. It is said that if we dig up the plant, it emits a piercing scream that can cause death, so tradition explains that to dig up the plant it is preferable to have a strong dog pull it until it is unearthed while we take refuge far away, the dog will die , but in this way we will obtain the root of the Mandrake. Actually, the root is very deep, more than a meter and a half, it must have been very expensive to remove it, hence the convenience of using a dog, the myth that its cry kills must be a warning of its danger, since only touching the root It can already be very dangerous, it would not be surprising if the dog, after taking out the plant, would approach it to smell it and touch it or if it bit it, they could easily find the dog very seriously ill or dead.
Today one of the main components of Mandrake, atropine, is used in medicine as a drug. Atropine stimulates the central nervous system at first, but then depresses it, acts as an antispasmodic, reduces digestive peristalsis and secretions of digestive juices (hence its successful use in antiquity and the Middle Ages for heartburn and headaches). stomach), reduces perspiration, depresses the vagus, and increases heart rate. It is an antagonist of the acetylcholine receptor, so it suppresses the action of the parasympathetic system (remember that the parasympathetic system relaxes everything except digestion, which favors it). Atropine inhibits it, thus preventing the activation of the vagus and slowing down the digestive processes. . Its action especially affects the heart, eyes and digestive system.
Atropine is used by ophthalmologists to dilate the pupils so they can explore the back of the eyes. Vagal stimulation of the heart is inhibited by atropine, therefore it accelerates the heart rate, it is used in cases of bradycardia and heart block, but it is extremely dangerous for patients who have suffered heart attacks or people with tachycardia. Atropine is also used in cases of poisoning by organophosphates (insecticides) because it counteracts their effects. At the digestive level it is useful in diarrhea, irritable colon and ulcers. Of course the drug is also fraught with the same contraindications as Mandrake, which is why it can only be prescribed by a doctor and is only purchased by prescription. It is a dangerous drug, as is Mandrake.
We see that the secret to be able to use the Mandragora correctly is the dosage, the ancients knew it (we don't know how many people would die until they discovered it, but they knew how to use it). Today its dosages are not known, it is simply prohibited and is not used. A knowledge that has fallen into oblivion or that today is only in the hands of specialists.
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