Toxicity and historical usage[edit]
It was historically used in combination with other plants, such as
mandrake,
deadly nightshade, and
datura as an
anaesthetic potion, as well as for its
psychoactive properties in "magic brews".
[1][2][3] These psychoactive properties include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight.
[4] It was originally used in
continental Europe,
Asia, and the
Arab world,
[5] though it did spread to England in the
Middle Ages. The use of henbane by the
ancient Greeks was documented by
Pliny who said it was "of the nature of wine and therefore offensive to the understanding," and by
Dioscorides who recommended it as a sedative and
analgesic.
[6] The plant, recorded as
Herba Apollinaris, was used to yield
oracles by the priestesses of
Apollo.
[1] Recently evidence for its earlier use in the Scottish Neolithic has been debated.
[7] John Gerard's
Herball states: "The leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness, which continueth long and is deadly to the patient. To wash the feet in a decoction of Henbane, as also the often smelling of the flowers causeth sleep."
[8]
The name henbane dates at least to AD 1265. The origins of the word are unclear, but "hen" probably originally meant death rather than referring to
chickens.
[9] Hyoscyamine,
scopolamine, and other
tropane alkaloids have been found in the foliage and seeds of the plant.
[1] Common effects of henbane ingestion in humans include hallucinations,
[1] dilated pupils, restlessness, and flushed skin. Less common symptoms, such as
tachycardia,
convulsions, vomiting,
hypertension,
hyperpyrexia, and
ataxia, have all been noted.
Henbane can be
toxic, even fatal, to animals in low doses. Not all animals are susceptible; for example, the
larvae of some
Lepidoptera species, including
cabbage moths, eat henbane.
It was sometimes one of the ingredients in
gruit, traditionally used in
beers as a flavouring. Several cities, most notable
Pilsen, were named after its German name form "Bilsenkraut" in context of the production for beer flavouring.
[10] It fell out of usage for beer when it was replaced by
hops in the 11th to 16th centuries, as the
Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 outlawed ingredients other than barley, hops, yeast, and water.
[11]
Henbane is sometimes identified with the "
hebenon" poured into the ear of
Hamlet's father,
[2][12] although other candidates for hebenon exist