Hexing herbs or the naked truth about witches | history of atropine use
Channel: gingerbiology
Date: 2024-03-05

What do Sally from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Hamlet's uncle have in common? They both used the same plants for poisoning. Dive into the wild world of these plants and their connections to love potions, Bacchanalian orgies, Delphi’s oracles, werewolves, witches flying on broomsticks and even Odysseus. Learn about neuronal communication, including the roles of acetylcholine, muscarinic receptors, acetylcholinesterase, and atropine.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:27 Hexing herbs
0:50 Psychoactive compounds: scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine
1:10 Atropa Belladonna
1:39 Love potion 
2:14 Shakespeare and hexing herbs
2:58  Oracles of Delphi 
3:16 Why do witches fly on brooms
3:45 Werewolfs
3:58 Odysseus on Circe's Island
4:24 Magical chemistry | Mechanism of action of hexing herbs
6:52 Outro


Inst: @gingerbiology