Active Ingredient Belladonna (atropa Belladonna L. Or Its Variety Acuminata Royle Ex Lindl)

belladonna is an herb that has been used for centuries for a variety of indications, including headache, menstrual symptoms, peptic ulcer disease, inflammation, and motion sickness. belladonna is known to contain active agents with anticholinergic properties, such as the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine.

Source:

medlineplus herbs and supplements: belladonna (atropa belladonna l. or its variety acuminata royle ex lindl)

Medical Condition	Uses based on scientific evidence	Grade*
burn of unspecified site unspecified degree	there is a lack of reliable scientific evidence available for the effectiveness of belladonna for rash after radiation therapy. further study is needed before a strong recommendation can be made.	c
headache	the available studies of belladonna in the treatment of headache are not well designed and do not show a clear benefit. more studies are needed to test the ability of belladonna alone (not in multi-ingredient products) to treat or prevent headache.	c
irritable bowel syndrome	belladonna has been used historically for the treatment of irritable bowel, and in theory its mechanism of action should be effective for some of the symptoms. however, of the few studies that are available, none clearly show that belladonna alone (not as part of a mixed product) provides this effect.	c
other diseases of respiratory system not elsewhere classified	belladonna can cause relaxation of the airway and reduce the amount of mucus produced. however, due to a lack of high-quality human research in this area, there is not enough evidence to form a clear conclusion.	c
other disorders of ear	little reliable research is available on the use of belladonna for ear infections. other therapies have been shown to be effective and are recommended for this condition.	c
premenstrual tension syndromes	bellergal (a combination of phenobarbital, ergot, and belladonna) has been used to treat pms symptoms. more studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.	c
sweating fever	there is a lack of reliable scientific evidence available for the effectiveness of belladonna to treat excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis). more research is needed in this area.	c
symptomatic menopausal or female climacteric states	bellergal (a combination of phenobarbital, ergot, and belladonna) has been used historically to treat hot flashes. however, in human studies belladonna supplements have not shown effectiveness.	d
unspecified disorders of nervous system	the autonomic nervous system, which helps control basic body functions like sweating and blood flow, is affected in several disorders. to date, human studies have shown no benefit from belladonna in treating these disorders.	c

*Key to grades
A: Strong scientific evidence for this use;
B: Good scientific evidence for this use;
C: Unclear scientific evidence for this use;
D: Fair scientific evidence against this use;
F: Strong scientific evidence against this use.