Wrong Plant Leads to Poisoning
January 1998; Volume 1: 11
Source: rasca T, et al. Mandrake toxicity—A case of mistaken identity. Arch Intern Med 997;157:2007-2009.
A31-year-old man ingested an unknown amount of mandrake plant purchased at a local health food store and came to the emergency department with severe nausea and vomiting. He was hospitalized overnight but recovered uneventfully without obvious systemic effects. This plant was almost certainly Podophyllum peltatum ased on chromatographic identification of podophylotoxin in a sample. However, the patient mistakenly believed he had taken the anticholinergic and hallucinatory plant Mandragora officinarum, hich is also known as mandrake. Physicians should understand the distinction between these substances and should be aware of the medical effects of other commonly used herbal therapies.
COMMENT
On the one hand, the fruits, foliage, dried roots, and rhizome of P. peltatum American mandrake or may apple) are strong purgatives and irritants. An extract of the rhizome is a time-honored treatment for condylloma acuminatum; etoposide, also derived from P. peltatum, s an antineoplastic medication.
On the other hand, the fruit, leaves, and root of M. officinarum ffect the central nervous system. The substances hyoscyamine and scopolamine are among M. officinarum’s ctive agents. Excessive ingestion has been successfully treated with emetic and anticholinesterase therapy.
The patient to whom Frasca et al refer mistakenly mixed P. peltatum n milk and drank it because, "It’s a brain drug. It increases oxygen to the brain." Frasca et al point out that unsubstantiated claims of remedying hepatic, biliary, uterine, and intestinal disorders are made for American mandrake.
Recommendation
Both types of mandrake have important clinical applications; neither can be recommended in their botanical, over-the-counter forms.
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