What is the common name for Aconitum napellus?
Monkshood, friar’s hood, auld wife’s huid and wolfsbane, common names for Aconitum napellus, hint at the plant’s flower shape and toxicity. Aconitum, part of the buttercup family, goes by various nicknames depending on the exact species – Monkshood, Wolfsbane, the Queen of Poisons, or Devil’s Helmet. Its reputation for death goes all the way back to the mythical Greek dog Cerberus, from whose saliva the plant supposedly grew.
Is Aconitum napellus safe to use?
All species of the gender Aconitum are highly toxic. Many of these plants have been used for many centuries as arrow poison or common poison in homicides. All parts of the plant are exceedingly poisonous to man and livestock. Many fatal poisonings with aconite have been described in case reports [17,38,43,76,91,93]. Aconite, a type of flowering plant, is often called the Queen of Poisons. This is an accurate description as it was used as a poison throughout history.Beesh/Bachhnak (Aconitum napellus L. It is extremely poisonous but used comprehensively for the treatment of hypertension, fever, numbness, rheumatoid arthritis and sciatica. Overdosing of it may cause hypotension, bradycardia or bidirectional tachycardia (Shoaib et al.Aconite is very poisonous. All parts contain alkaloids that depress the nervous system and have been known to cause cardiac arrythmia and death. It can be absorbed through the skin. There is no specific antidote, but cases of poisoning are treated with antiarrythmic drugs.