1. Eric Wai-Wa Pau NTRS 463 Dr. Tam
Black Nightshade
Eric Wai-Wa Pau
NTRS 463
Dr. Tam

2. Description Species name: Solanum Nigrum
Other names: Petty Morel, Garden Nightshade, and Poisonberry; these names are used to distinguish it from the Deadly Nightshade, or Great Morel, as it is also poisonous but apparently less so
An annual plant 10 to 50cm in height; leaves fleshy, petiolate, rhomboid or ovate
Has a musklike odor when wilting
Fruit is a pea-sized black, occasionally green or yellow berry
Flowers are small, white, and are in 6-10 blossomed

3. Black Nightshade With Its Berries

4. Description Cont.
Habitat: the Black Nightshade is an ubiquitous plant that is found worldwide
It is commonly considered as a type of weed
Medicinal parts are the dried herb collected during flowering season, in which it is picked in uncultivated regions and desiccated in open air
The plant is considered to be poisonous, with most of its toxins in uncooked or unripe berries. Cooking the berries would eliminate the toxins and the concentration of toxins would decrease as the plant matures.

5. Dosage Could be used internally and externally
The herb can be administered as ground drug, tincture, and liquid extract.
To prepare for the rinse or moist compress, boil 1 liter of water with a handful of the drug for 10 minutes; For tincture, prepare in a ratio of 1:1 with 95% ethanol
No side effects are known with the proper dosages of the plant
Overdosage could lead to GI signs of irritation, characterized by queasiness (nausea), vomiting, headache, and mydriasis (dilation of the pupil).

6. Functional Molecules of the Black Nightshade
Solamargine (CH45H73NO15)
Naturally occurred alkaloid compound found within the leaves and the berries of the plant
One of the main contributors to the bitter taste of the plant
Has a molecular weight of mol
With attachments with a sugar molecule, solamargine also is considered as a glycoalkaloid
A poisonous compound and a defensive chemical that protects the plant against bacteria, fungi, insects, and animals

7. Functional Molecules of the Black Nightshade (cont.)
Steroid Saponins
Compounds that possess the characteristic of soap
In terms of structure, the compound contains a steroidal backbone and has a glycosidal linkage at the 3rd carbon
Are both fat soluble and water soluble, meaning that they are both hydrophobic and hydrophilic (perhaps a similar property with phospholipids)
Composed of an aglycone part with one or more sugar side chains
May have important relationships with the human steroid hormones

8. Solamargine and Steroid Saponins

9. Clinical Trials South Korea (2003)
Purpose: To test the anti-tumor properties of the Black Nightshade
Prepared an ethanol extract from ripe fruits of the Black Nightshade and performed a cell proliferation assay with MCF-7 human breast cancer cells
Results showed that the proliferative capacity of the cells were strongly suppressed in the presence of the SNL extract, in which the suppression of cell growth appears to be apoptopic
Results also reveal that the extract possesses antioxidant properties in which it scavenges hydroxyl radicals and DPPH radicals rather than superoxide anions
As a result, these South Korean scientists suggest that the Black Nightshade extract could be used as an antioxidant and cancer chemo-preventive material

10. Cell Proliferation Assay

11. Clinical Trials (Cont.)
India (March 2006)
Purpose: To investigate the anti-ulcer effect of Solanum Nigrum fruits extract on gastric ulcer models and ulcer healing activity
Model: Acetic acid induced ulcer model in rats; gastric ulcer models
Dosages of the extract were given to the rats as treatments
Results indicate that the extract naturally suppresses the gastric secretory volume, acidity and pepsin secretion in ulcerated rats, inhibits H+K+ATPase activity, and bolsters the healing process of acetic acid induced ulcers after 7 days of treatment
As a result, scientists suggest that the Black Nightshade possesses anti-ulcerogenic, ulcer-healing, and anti- secretory properties