Makoy (Solanum nigrum) and its medicinal uses

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.
thiopicum, 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.