(Thorn-apple; Jamestown or Jimson Weed.)

Definition. - The dried leaves of Datura Stramonium L., yielding when assayed not less than 0.35 per cent. of mydriatic alkaloids. Stramonium is a coarse-looking annual weed, believed to be a native of Asia, but found growing in waste places and along roadsides throughout the greater part of the world.

Description and Properties. - From 3 to 8 inches (7-20 Cm.) long, petio-late, dark-green, smooth, ovate, pointed, unequal, especially at the base, coarsely and sinuately toothed; thin, brittle, and nearly inodorous; taste unpleasant, bitter, and nauseous. Stramonium leaves contain about 0.2 per cent. of a mixture of atropine and hyoscyamine previously termed daturine.

Dose. - 1-5 grains (0.06-0.3 Gm.).

Antagonists, incompatibles, and synergists are the same as for belladonna.

Physiological Action. - The action of stramonium is practically identical with that of belladonna. It is thought to contain larger amounts of hyoscyamine than belladonna, and will, therefore, have more of the action of that drug combined with the action of atropine.

Poisoning from the thorn apple is by no means uncommon. It is a ubiquitous weed, widely dispersed, and its seeds are frequently eaten by children. The treatment should follow the lines established for belladonna-poisoning.

Therapeutics. - The medical uses of belladonna are applicable to this drug, although stramonium is much more widely used in spasmodic asthma.

Administration. - No special directions are necessary, any of the preparations being serviceable. For asthma the leaves may be smoked in a pipe or in the form of cigarettes, this method of employing the drug to relieve bronchial spasm being probably superior to internal administration.