Common Name: Indian Tobacco

General Information

Lobelia inflata is an annual plant with erect, branched stems; it can grow up to 100cm tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes cultivated as a medicinal plant and is traded to various countries[].

Known Hazards

Some reports say that the plant is poisonous[, , ], whilst another says that toxicity has not been established[].
Many, if not all, species in the genus Lobelia contain a range of piperidine alkaloids, particularly lobeline and lobelanine. If ingested, these can cause a range of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma. Generally, the degree of toxicity is only moderate and plants are only harmful in larger quantities - indeed several species have medicinal uses and a few are even eaten as wild foods[]

Botanical References

,

Range

Central and eastern N. America - Ontario to Quebec, south to Louisiana and Georgia

Habitat

Meadows, fields, roadsides, waste places and open woods[, ]. Usually in dry soils[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.60 m
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in full sun or light shade[]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Prefers a slightly acid soil[].
Plants are usually annual, but are sometimes biennial[].
This species is occasionally cultivated commercially as a medicinal plant[, ].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Indian Tobacco was a traditional North American Indian remedy for a wide range of conditions[]. Nowadays it is used mainly as a powerful antispasmodic herb in the treatment of respiratory and muscle disorders[]. Acting also as a respiratory stimulant, Indian Tobacco is a valuable remedy for conditions such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis[]. This remedy, however, should be used with great caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner[, , ]. Excess doses cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and respiratory failure[]. See also the notes above on toxicity.

The dried flowering herb and the seed are antiasthmatic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant and nervine[, , , , , ]. The plant is taken internally in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough and pleurisy[].
Externally, the plant is used in treating pleurisy, rheumatism, tennis elbow, whiplash injuries, boils and ulcers[].
The whole plant is harvested when the lower fruits are ripe and it is used fresh or dried[].

The plant contains the alkaline 'lobeline' which has has similar but less potent pharmacological properties to nicotine. It mimics the effects of nicotine and so is sometimes used in proprietary anti-smoking mixtures, though its efficacy has not been fully established[, , , , ].
The alkaloids present in the leaves are used to stimulate the removal of phlegm from the respiratory tract[]. When chewed, the leaves induce vomiting, headache and nausea - in larger doses it has caused death[]. The alkaloids first act as a stimulant and then as a depressive to the autonomic nervous system and in high doses paralyses muscular action in the same way as curare[].

Other Uses

The plant has been burnt in order to smoke out gnats[].

An extract of the whole plant is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin conditioner[]. The plant contains the alkaloid lobeline, which has been used as an active ingredient in skin-lightening preparations[].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ and only just cover the seed[]. The seed usually germinates within 2 weeks.