Black nightshade

Black nightshade is a plant whose components including leaves, fruit and root are used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, black nightshade is used for stomach irritation, cramps, pain and nervousness. Some people apply black nights hade directly to the skin for psoriasis, hemorrhoids and abscesses. The crushed fresh leaves are applied to the skin to treat inflammatory swellings, burns and ulcers.

How does black nightshade work?

There is not enough information available to assess how black nightshade might work as a medicine.

How effective is black nightshade?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of black nightshade in the treatment of stomach irritation, cramps, pain and nervousness, and when applied to the skin in the treatment of hemorrhoids, inflammatory skin conditions and burns.

Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of black nightshade in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Black nightshade is not safe and harmless when taken orally. It contains a toxic chemical called solanine. In low doses, this chemical can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches and other side effects. In higher doses, solanine can cause serious poisoning. Signs of such poisoning include irregular heartbeat, trouble breathing, dizziness, drowsiness, twitching of the arms and legs, convulsions, diarrhea, paralysis, coma and death.

There is not enough information to say whether black nightshade applied to the skin is safe and harmless.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and lactation: Black nightshade is not safe to use during pregnancy as it may cause birth defects.

Interactions

There is currently no information on interactions.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of black nightshade depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for black nightshade. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.