Mandrake, mandrake, alanthrope, bear-man, mandrake, avgouda
megalobotani, eleusha, pethamos and the greek name: Μανδραγόρας
It is a poa with a short stem 10-25 cm high with a rosette of large, oval leaves. The flowers are cone-shaped, white-green, violet, purple or purple. The mandrake is mainly characterised by its large fleshy root, which can reach 1 m into the ground and often resembles an anthropomorphic xylem; this has contributed to the creation of related traditions and myths. Its fruits resemble apples, hence the name antimylon, according to Dioscorides. It flowers from December to April.
Mandrake belongs to the species of perennial herbaceous plants with toxic and medicinal properties. It is a native plant of the Mediterranean regions with a wide distribution in Europe and Asia. It grows at altitudes of up to 650 m in a wide range of habitats, along roadsides, on bare ground and less frequently on sandy beaches.
In antiquity, Palestine was considered the home of mandrake, and the plant is mentioned in the Holy Bible in Genesis and the Song of Songs. In the Old Testament, reference is made to its fruits, which when eaten dissolve sterility. The Egyptians depict mandrake in relief decorations.
Through imaginative myths its narcotic properties are demonstrated and Koller, Ebers, Hearst scrolls contain recipes using the "anthropomorphic" mandrake.
Hippocrates is aware of the narcotic energy of mandrake and in his work "places in man", he notes: "To persons who are possessed by grief, who suffer from melancholy and want to self-manage, to hang themselves, give them in the morning a drink of mandrake root, in a small dose so as not to cause delirium".Hippocrates, without describing mandrake, recommends it among other things as an alcoholic remedy for antipyretic. He mentions it in his books "Around the syringes", "Topoi", "Women's Proton". References to the plant are found in Socrates, Plato, Xenophon, Demosthenes and others.
Theophrastus mentions "arena" and "thely" and recommends it for edemas, gout, ulcers.
With Dioscorides, the reputation of mandrake spreads while he refers to the male and female, and gives instructions on how to root and extract the plant, for which he uses the names bombochylon, kirkaion, antimilo, antimimon. He recommends it for use as a hypnotic, anaesthetic, emmenagogue, against oedema... in (Vol. D. 75), who also recommends a specific dosage for inducing lethargy in those about to undergo surgery or cautery.
Many active alkaloids (atropine, scopolamine and their derivatives) are present in the leaves and especially in the rhizome.
Pharmaceutical forms
In the past the rhizome was used.
Pharmacological and therapeutic applications
Modern medicine has no therapeutic application for mandrake. In the past, it was used as an anaesthetic drug for surgical procedures. In ancient and medieval times, mandrake was popular as a 'magic' plant and as a means of deliberate poisoning.
Method of processing the medicinal herb
The use in the past was for the dried root.
Adverse actions
Mandrake causes dry mouth, vomiting, blurred vision, pupil dilation (mydriasis), difficulty urinating, dizziness, headache, facial redness, tachycardia, hyperstimulation with hallucinations and, in large doses, death.
