| PDF (Download) | Belladonna Alkaloid Poisoningislabeling of HerbsMate (Ilex paraguariensis) | | Date: May 24, 1997 | HC# 052472-110 |
Re: Poisoning by Belladonna Alkaloids Due to Mislabeling of Mate Tea
Hsu, Carl,. Anticholinergic Poisoning Associated with Herbal Tea Archives of Internal Medicine. vol. 155, Nov. 13, 1995:.
Human poisoning with plants containing belladonna alkaloids occurs regularly. Over the past decade, the American Association of Poison Control Centers has identified a few hundred such poisonings each year, but no deaths, which are rare. The attached article describes three related instances of belladonna poisoning caused by ingestion of a tea erroneously labeled 'Paraguay Tea.'
Common plants containing belladonna alkaloids include jimsonweed (Datura spp.), deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), angel's trumpet (Brugmansia x Candida), and even under-ripe potatoes. Hallmark symptoms include rapid heartbeat, hypotension, hyperthermia, confusion, hallucinations, dry mucous membranes and skin, dilated pupils that don't respond to light level changes, and urine retention. In severe cases, seizures and coma can result. Unfortunately, as is too often the case with articles in the medical literature written by people with little or no botanical training, these authors erroneously include burdock (Arctium lappa) and lobelia (Lobelia inflata) as plants containing belladonna alkaloids. They do not.
All suspected belladonna alkaloid poisoning cases should receive emergency medical care. Treatment includes ingestion of activated charcoal, stomach lavage, and in severe cases intravenously administered physostigmine, Physostigmine is itself an alkaloid extracted from another herb, the Calabar bean of western Africa (Physostigma venenosum). Its use must be carefully monitored because it too can be toxic.
In the cases described in the article, three unrelated families of South American immigrants purchased and ingested packets of dried plant material labeled 'Paraguay Tea,' also known as yerba mate. Yerba mate, the dried leaves of the South American holly (Ilex paraguariensis), contains mildly stimulating amounts of caffeine and theophylline. Normal use poses no health hazards; the tea is a popular South American beverage, and is used to stimulate milk production in nursing mothers. The leaves contain no belladonna alkaloids. Some of the consumers of the contaminated packets commented later that they contained unusual brown stems rather than the familiar reddish leafy mixture. Analysis of the packets revealed no trace of the caffeine and theophylline usually found in mate.
In all recorded cases of poisoning from this mislabeled tea, symptoms developed within minutes of consuming as few as two sips. Patients ranged in age from a 10-month-old infant to adults in their thirties. Their sometimes dramatic symptoms included belligerence, extreme agitation, inability to speak coherently, and disorientation. All enjoyed virtually full recovery, although two adults still suffered blurred vision a week later.
Abnormal dilation of one or both eye pupils can be caused by external contact with plants containing belladonna alkaloids. A gardener cutting angel's trumpet developed dilation in one eye lasting 48 hours. 'Cornpicker's pupil' is the common name for an eye condition arising from extended exposure to jimsonweed in corn fields.
The name belladonna, commonly applied to deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), means 'beautiful lady' in Italian and refers to an old practice of using the juice to dilate the eye pupils and give them a darker, sparkling appearance.
It should be noted that the 'herbal tea' involved in this case was produced by a small firm in New York City which imported products from South America and sold them to small ethnic stores in the area. This product was not manufactured by a reputable herb tea company following normal Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP's).
- Betsy Levy
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