Makoy (Solanum nigrum) and its medicinal uses

{pixabay|100|campaign}

Botanical Name :Solanum Nigrum

Common Name :Black Night Shade, Makoy, Deadly Nightshade

Part Used :Fruits, Whole Plant

Habitat :Grows as a weed all over dry parts of india

Product offered :Seeds, Wholeplant, Fruits

Description: Black nightshade is a fairly common herb or short-lived perennial shrub, found in many wooded areas, as well as disturbed habitats. It has a height of 30–120 cm (12-48″), leaves 4-7.5 cm (1 1/2-3″) long) and 2–5 cm wide (1-2 1/2″); ovate to heart-shaped, with wavy or large-toothed edges; both surfaces hairy or hairless; petiole1–3 cm (1/2-1″) long with a winged upper portion. The flowers have petals greenish to whitish, recurved when aged and surround prominent bright yellow anthers. The berry is mostly 6–8 mm (1/4-3/4″) diam., dull black or purple-black. In India, another strain is found with berries that turn red when ripe.

Medicinal Action and Uses: The plant has a long history of medicinal usage, dating back to ancient Greece. This species has the reputation of being very poisonous, a fact, however, disputed by recent inquiries. In experimenting on dogs, very varying results have been obtained, which may be explained by the fact that the active principle, Solanine, on which the poisonous properties of this and the preceding species depend, and which exists in considerable quantity in the fresh herb, varies very much at different seasons.

The berries are injurious to children, but are often eaten by adults with impunity, especially when quite ripe, as the poisonous principle is chiefly associated with all green parts. Cattle will not eat the plant and sheep rarely touch it.

It is applied in medicine similarly to Bittersweet, but is more powerful and possesses greater narcotic properties.

Taken internally in very small amounts, the leaves strongly promote perspiration and purge the bowels the next day. The juice of the fresh herb is sometimes used for fever and to allay pain. In large doses, black nightshade can cause serious, but usually not fatal, poisoning. Externally, the juice or an ointment prepared from the leaves can be used for skin problems and tumors. The berries are poisonous, but boiling apparently destroys the toxic substances and makes them usable for preserves, jams, and pies.

The fruit is used as a cosmetic; rubbing the seeds on the cheeks to remove freckles. Children harmlessly and extensively eat the mature fruit. The fruit has been used for diabetes. Decoction of stalk, leaves, roots are good for wounds and cancerous sores. An infusion of the plant is used as an enema in infants having abdominal upsets. Freshly prepared extract of the plant is effective in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver and also serves as an antidote to opium poisoning.

According to Withering and other authorities, 1 or 2 grains of the dried leaves, infused in boiling water, act as a strong sudorific.

In Bohemia the leaves are placed in the cradles of infants to promote sleep. In the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, the leaves are eaten in place of spinach: and the fruit is said to be eaten without inconvenience by soldiers stationed in British Kaffraria.

It has been found useful in cutaneous disorders, but its action is variable, and it is considered a somewhat dangerous remedy except in very small doses.

The bruised fresh leaves, used externally, are said to ease pain and abate inflammation, and the Arabs apply them to burns and ulcers. Their juice has been used for ringworm, gout and earache, and mixed with vinegar, is said to be good as a gargle and mouthwash.

Besides the above-mentioned species, others are used for medicinal, alimentary, and other purposes. Some are employed almost universally as narcotics to allay pain, etc.; others are sudorific and purgative. Solanum toxicarium is used as a poison by the natives of Cayenne. S. pseudo-quina is esteemed as a valuable febrifuge in Brazil. Among those used for food, are S. Album and S. Æthiopicum, the fruits of which are used in China and Japan. Those of S. Anguivi are eaten in Madagascar. S. esculentum and its varieties furnish the fruits known as Aubergines or Brinjals, which are highly esteemed in France, and may sometimes be met with in English markets; they are of the size and form of a goose’s egg and usually of a rich purple colour. The Egg-plant, which has white berries, is only a variety of this. The Peruvians eat the fruits of S. muricatum and S. quitoense; those of S. ramosumare eaten as a vegetable in the West Indies.