Mandrake

Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) native to the Mediterranean region. It has a long thick root, often branched, and almost no stem, the leaves being borne in a basal rosette. The flowers are bell-shaped and are followed by yellow or orange berries. The flowers appear from autumn to spring (September to April).

Toxicity and chemistry

All species of Mandragora contain highly biologically active alkaloids, tropane alkaloids in particular. Alkaloids present in the fresh plant or the dried root include atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. The alkaloids make the plant, in particular the root and leaves, poisonous. Ingesting mandrake root is likely to have other adverse effects such as vomiting and diarrhea. A review of the phytochemistry of Mandragora species identified more than 80 substances and gave the detailed chemical structure of 37 of them.

Traditional use

The root is hallucinogenic and narcotic. In sufficient quantities, it induces a state of unconsciousness and was used as an anaesthetic for surgery in ancient times. In the past, juice from the finely grated root was applied externally to relieve rheumatic pains. It was also used internally to treat melancholy, convulsions, and mania.

Folklore

The roots of mandrakes often resemble human figures. In one superstition, people who pull up this root will be condemned to hell, and the root would scream as it was pulled from the ground, killing anyone who heard it. People have tied the roots to the bodies of animals and then used these animals to pull the roots from the soil.

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