Catalog of Herbs
Published in James A. Duke, Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
James A. Duke
Young plants contain more hyoscine and less hyoscyamine; in mature plants, hyoscyamine is the main active alkaloid (especially in the petiole). Leaves contain 0.04 to 0.08% total alkaloids, roots 0.16%, seeds 0.06 to 0.1%.58 Choline, mucilage, resin, and tannin are also reported. Potassium nitrate is presumed to cause the characteristic sparking effect when the leaf is ignited. Seeds contain about 25% fatty oil and a little volatile oil. One report suggests that dry seeds contain 21.2% protein and 38.9% fat.21Hager’s Handbook adds for the leaves apoatropine, atropine, cuscohygrine, choline, tetramethylputrescine, methyl pyrroline, methyl pyrrolidine, pyridine, tropine, scopine, and scopoline. In addition to the usual amino acids, there is a bitter glycoside hyoscypicrin, a butyric acid ester, coumarin, wax. Old literature adds bi- and trimethylamine and scopetol.33