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The nightshade is a plant with two effects. It has both poisonous and healing properties. How it’s possible? The most poison is found in the fruits of the wolfberry. In turn, the leaves and roots of the wolfberry have beneficial properties for our health. In what cases is the healing properties of the wolfberry used? What are the symptoms of wolfberry poisoning?
Wolfberry – a shrub to watch out for
The nightshade is a shrub of small size. Due to the fact that it has poisonous properties, it is worth warning children about it, but you should also know what this shrub actually looks like. For a child, just a few fruits of the wolfberry may turn out to be a lethal dose.
The nightshade usually reaches 150 cm in height. The shrub’s stem is purple in color with up to three branches. The dark green elliptical leaves are quite large as they can be up to 25 cm long. The bell-shaped flowers are dark purple in color. The wolfberry blooms in the summer months – June and July. The fruits of the wolfberry are shiny and dark purple, and the taste is extremely sweet. However, it is worth being careful, because you can confuse them with blueberries or even blueberries. Therefore, if we are not sure – do not break anything that may harm us.
Nightberry – symptoms of poisoning
The nightshade is a poisonous plant, which means that every part of it has toxic substances. The berries of the wolfberry contain the most poisonous ingredients, such as hyocyamine and atropine. It is worth mentioning here that it does not matter whether we eat them raw or dry. The fruit will still be highly poisonous. The lethal dose for an adult is the consumption of about 10 – 20 fruits. For children, the lethal dose is much less. Eating just three fruits can be dangerous for your baby, and the first symptoms can be noticed even after ten minutes.
The most common symptoms of wolfberry poisoning are flushed skin, rapid breathing, photophobia, agitation, dilated pupils, as well as vomiting and nausea. There may also be a very high fever, hallucinations, aggression, convulsions, constipation, but also hearing, sight and speech disorders.
If you notice any of the above symptoms after eating a dangerous fruit, you should call an ambulance as soon as possible or take the poisoned person to hospital. If you want to help a person who has eaten wolfberry and has the first symptoms of poisoning, you can try to induce vomiting. However, this should not be done in a person who is unconscious or has seizures.
Wolfberry – health properties
Wolfberry, although extremely dangerous and life-threatening, when properly processed, can have a healing effect. Healing properties are most often found in the roots and leaves of the wolfberry. It is worth noting, however, that you should not prepare any preparations based on the wolfberry. This can only be done by specialists.
Properly prepared wolfberry can help in the treatment of stomach ulcers, kidney stones, nephritis, but also in the case of intestinal problems, in the treatment of migraines and viral, bacterial and fungal infections. What’s more, the nightshade is used in ophthalmology as a preparation for dilating the pupils when examining the eye.