PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Hojas.

ACCION FARMACOLOGICA= Pharmacological action: Gastralgias (dolor de estómago), neurálgias.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition:Chromatographic procedures (HPLC, GC-MS) are outlined in this paper for the analysis of alkaloids in poisonous Datura ferox seeds of Argentina, from which previously only quantitative analysis for scopolamine was known. Five additional tropane alkaloids are now identified as 3alpha-tigloyloxytropane (tigloyltropeine), 3-phenylacetoxy-6beta,7beta-epoxytropane (3-phenylacetoxyscopine), aposcopolamine (apohyoscine), 7beta-hydroxy-6beta-propenyloxy-3alpha-tropoyloxytropane, traces of 7beta-hydroxy-6beta-isovaleroyloxy-alpha-tigloylxytropane and a pyrrolidine alkaloid, hygrine. Two new structures, 3-phenylacetoxy-6beta,7beta-epoxytropane (3-phenylacetoxyscopine) and 7beta-hydroxy-6beta-propenyloxy-3alpha-tropoyloxytropane, are proposed on the basis of their spectra. Hyoscyamine, nicotine and tropane N-oxides were not detected in all samples studied.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: Uruguay. 

Leaf: Applied with coconut oil on bruises; leaf used for a pain-killer (anodyne) in Surinam.

Fruit: Crushed green fruit used to treat pustules of anthracoid erysipelas in French Guiana.

Flower: Juice used to treat earache in Surinam.

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Origins: Forest edge, fields, roadsides, and waste ground.

Uses: This extremely poisonous plant is used as an antispasmodic, antiasthmatic, and anodyne sedative. The dried leaves are frequently mixed with saltpeter and burned in a treatment for asthma. In Appalachia, a poultice made from blossoms is used to treat wounds and to kill pain; also, dried leaves are smoked in a pipe to relieve asthma. In the Southwest, the plant is used by Zuni Indians as a hallucogenic. In Europe, where the plant has been known for centuries, it is used to treat pulmonary disease, nervous afflictions, and nymphomania. And legend has it that the Delphic Oracle inhaled smoke from burning Datura leaves to induce visions.
Toxicity: extremly poisonus.

1) GONZALEZ, Matías ; LOMBARDO, Atilio ; VALLARINO, Aida. Plantas de la medicina vulgar del Uruguay. Montevideo : Talleres Gráficos, 1937, p.49

2) VITALE, A.A., ACHER, A., POMILIO, A.B. Alkaloids of Datura ferox from Argentina. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1995, vol.49, nº2, p.81-89.

3) ALONSO, Jorge R. Tratado de fitomedicina : bases clínicas y farmacológicas. Buenos Aires : ISIS, 1998, 1044 p.

4) Robertt, A., et al.. Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana)/Smithsonian NMNH. cited online: 17-08-2017

5) A guide to medicinal plants of Appalachia/ Krochmal, Arnold; Walter, Russel S.; Doughty, Richard M.: USA: U.S.D.A Forest Service:,1959