Common Name: Thorn Apple

General Information

Datura stramonium is an erect, often much-branched, annual to short-lived perennial plant that can grow up to 2 metres tall[].
Thorn apple is a popular traditional medicine with a long history of use. It is harvested from the wild, both as a medicine and also as a source of materials. It is cultivated commercially as a medicinal plant, mainly to supply active compounds for the pharmaceutical industry[, ].
The plant often self-sows when well sited[]. It can become a weed in suitable conditions and is subject to statutory control in some countries[]. Control is difficult because the plant is resistant to most commonly used herbicides.

Known Hazards

All members of this genus contain narcotics and are very poisonous, even in small doses[].

Botanical References

Range

Originally native to the Americas, it is now found in many areas of the world, from the warm temperate zone to the tropics.

Habitat

Dry waste ground and amongst rubble or the ruins of old buildings[, ]

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	1.50 m
Pollinators	Hawkmoths
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant originally from the warm areas of the Americas, Datura stramonium has long been cultivated from the warm temperate zone to the tropics. It is intolerant of frost[].
Succeeds in most moderately good soils but prefers a rich light sandy soil or a calcareous loam, and an open sunny position[, , ].
The plant often self-sows when well sited[]. It can become a weed in suitable conditions and is subject to statutory control in some countries[]. Control is difficult because the plant is resistant to most commonly used herbicides. Contamination of wheat, rye, buckwheat and linseed with seeds of Datura stramonium resulting in poisoning have been reported[].
The best time for harvesting the leaves is 8 weeks after sowing, because alkaloid content at that time is highest. It is also recommended to harvest the leaves in the early morning or late afternoon[].
The hyoscyamine/scopolamine ratio in the plant is influenced by the developmental stage reached by the plants. In younger plants scopolamine is the main alkaloid, whereas hyoscyamine mostly becomes the dominant alkaloid when flower development has started. The alkaloids are produced in the roots and transferred to the leaves, flowers and finally the fruits[].
The highest yields of scopolamine and hyoscyamine from the plant in Algeria were 7.5 kg/ha and 21 kg/ha, respectively. In India 1 - 1.5 t/ha of dry leaves and 500 - 600 kg/ha of seeds have been obtained[].
Grows well with pumpkins[].
The whole plant gives off a nauseating stench[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Thorn apple is a bitter narcotic plant that relieves pain and encourages healing[]. It has a long history of use as a herbal medicine, being especially well-known as a treatment for chest complaints, including asthma, cough, tuberculosis and bronchitis. It is a very poisonous plant, however, and is subject to legal restrictions in some countries[]. It should be used with extreme caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner since all parts of the plant are very poisonous and the difference between a medicinal dose and a toxic dose is very small[, , ]. Excess doses cause giddiness, dry mouth, hallucinations and coma[].
The concentration of total alkaloids in the leaves is 0.2 - 0.5%; hyoscyamine is the major compound whilst the minor compounds include scopolamine, apoatropine, atropine, tropine, belladonnine and hyoscyamine N-oxide minor compounds; more than 70 alkaloids have been identified in the various parts of the plant[].
Hyoscyamine, atropine and scopolamine are anticholinergics, specifically antimuscarinics. They act by competitively and reversibly inhibiting the neuro-transmitter acetylcholine from binding to its muscarinic receptors, and this antagonism leads to sympathomimetic-like effects in the organs. They increase the heart rate, induce relaxation and motor inhibition in smooth muscles, decrease secretions, and induce dilation of the pupils of the eyes. Although hyoscyamine has a stronger activity than atropine or scopolamine, atropine is more commonly prepared and used. Although at low doses their action tends to be depressant and sedative, at high doses they cause substantial excitation: agitation, disorientation, exaggerated reflexes, hallucinations, delirium, mental confusion and insomnia[].
Hyoscyamine is used to provide symptomatic relief of various gastrointestinal disorders including spasms, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, pancreatitis, colic and inflammation of the bladder. It has also been used to relieve some heart problems, to reduce excess saliva production and control some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease[].
Atropine dilates the pupils and is used in eye surgery[].

The leaves, flowering tops and seeds are anodyne, antiasthmatic, antispasmodic, hallucinogenic, hypnotic, mydriatic, narcotic and pectiral[, , , , , , , , , , ]. The seeds are the most active medicinally[]. The plant is used internally in the treatment of asthma and Parkinson's disease[]. An infusion of the leaves is drunk as a treatment for venereal disease[].
The leaves can be used as a very powerful mind-altering drug with sedative activities, they contain hyoscyamine and atropine[]. There are also traces of scopolamine, a potent cholinergic-blocking hallucinogen, which has been used to calm patients suffering from schizophrenia and similar conditions[].
The leaves have been smoked as an antispasmodic in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, asthma and other chest complaints, though this practice can be extremely dangerous[, ].
Externally, the plant is used as a poultice or wash in the treatment of fistulas, abscesses, wounds, swellings, burns, fungal infections, tumours and severe neuralgia[, , ]. The scalp is rubbed with the leaves or leaf sap in order to relieve headaches[].
The leaves should be harvested when the plant is in full flower, they are then dried for later use[].

The pounded fresh root and fresh leaves are soaked in water and the liquid is given in enema as an abortifacient[].
A hot poultice of leaves and roots is applied to goitre[]. The skin is washed with an infusion of roots and leaves as a treatment for ulcers[].

The seeds are used in Tibetan medicine, they are said to have a bitter and acrid taste with a cooling and very poisonous potency[]. Analgesic, anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory, they are used in the treatment of stomach and intestinal pain due to worm infestation, toothache and fever from inflammations[].

The dried and ground leaves and seeds are eaten mixed with fat to treat ringworm[].

Pieces of the young fruit are sucked to relieve tonsillitis and sore throat[].
Pieces of the fruit are applied to abscesses and swollen glands[]. The juice of the fruit is applied to the scalp to treat dandruff and is dropped in the ears to relieve earache[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

Datura species are extremely susceptible to the various viruses that afflict the potato family (Solanaceae), it can act as a centre of infection so should not be grown near potatoes or tomatoes[].

Other Uses

The growing plant is said to protect neighbouring plants from insects[, ].
Reports on the use of the plant as an insecticide vary from good control of aphids in crops in Namibia to no effects in Australia[].

The juice of the fruits is applied to the scalp to cure dandruff and falling hair[, ].

The leaves yield a green dye that is used to dye cloth[].
The twigs yield a blue-green dye that is used for house decoration[].
The plant has been used to tattoo the gums, partly as a treatment of gingivitis or dental decay[].

The seed contains about 17% of a pale yellow oil. It is used as massage oil[].

The stems are used as firewood[].

Propagation

Sow the seed in individual pots in early spring in a greenhouse[]. Put 3 or 4 seeds in each pot and thin if necessary to the best plant. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 15°c. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Especially in areas with hot summers, it is worthwhile trying a sowing outdoors in situ in mid to late spring.