Scopolamine, psychoactivity

Certain plants of the family Solanaceae, such as Atropa belladonna L., Hyoscyamus niger L., and Datura stramonium L., have been used medicinally for centuries in Europe because they contain tropane-type alkaloids.For example, atropine (1) [a racemic mixture of (+)- and (—)-hyoscyamine (2)] and (-)-hyoscyamine are competitive antagonists at the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor site, leading to antispasmodic and antiallergic effects. Scopolamine [(—)-hyoscine)] (3) is used in a transdermal patch for the prevention of motion sickness. Since these tropane alkaloids penetrate the blood-brain barrier, they also have psychoactive effects. ... 

The family Solanaceae, made up of more than 2,400 species, is especially noteworthy. Many of its members contain the alkaloids atropine (dl-hyoscyamine) and scopolamine (hyosdne). Atropine shows up in mandrake root, henbane and thorn apple it constitutes just over 4.5 percent of the asthmatic preparation called Asthmador. Schultes and Hofmann claim that there are no reports on the effects of atropine alone "which could explain the addition of belladonna as an ingredient of magic brews in medieval Europe. But Hoffer and Osmond recall several historical incidents that attest to its psychoactivity. One story involved a family of five who in 1963 ate tomato plants that had been grafted onto jimson weed, producing 6.36 mg. of atropine per tomato "All five developed deliroid reactions of varying intensity and some had to be treated in the hospital several days. This seems to be the first known instance of hallucinogenic tomatoes. ... 

Psychoactive plants have been used by humans for recreational, spiritual, and therapeutic purposes for millennia (6). It is evident from the African plants that have received the most attention, such as T. iboga and Catha edulis that research has been focused on those plants most commonly used for spiritual or recreational purposes. This is understandable as these plants are often more obvious because of their cultural importance and consequently more noticeable, in particular hallucinogens. The more subtle, often more therapeutically important plants, such as mild stimulants, sedatives, those used to treat convulsions and epilepsy have been sadly overlooked. The CNS-related mode of action of many plants may not immediately be obvious, for example nausea and vomiting are associated with the gastrointestinal system but is often treated via the CNS with scopolamine. The hunger-suppressant (anorectic) activities of South African succulent plants of the species Hoodia (7) are another example. 

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