Trumpet leaf tea is made from flowers and leaves of the Angel’s trumpet plant. Despite grave safety concerns, when trumpet leaf tea is consumed recreationally to produce pleasure and hallucinations. Asthma and other illnesses are also treated with it, although there isn’t any solid scientific data to back up these uses.
The angel’s trumpet is an attractive decorative plant that is often secure to cultivate. The blooms and leaves, however, can be exceedingly deadly if consumed.
Nature has always been a little deceiving regarding stunning blossoming plants, especially to curious creatures and people. Despite its exciting magenta and pink tints, Belladonna has earned the moniker “deadly nightshade” for a cause.
Yet, Belladonna is not the only plant that contains toxic substances; angel’s trumpet also has the potential to be harmful when taken.
What Is An Angel’s Trumpet Plant?
The nightshade family’s angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia candida) is an evergreen plant with trumpet-shaped flowers hanging downward, typically white, yellow, orange, red, or pink.
Warmer conditions make Angel’s trumpet trees and shrubs ideal for greenhouse gardening. The lovely bell-shaped flowers emit a fragrant aroma at night to draw hummingbirds and moths for pollination.
How Does It Work?
Chemicals in angel’s trumpet and trumpet leaf tea can sometimes have the potential to produce euphoria and hallucinations.
As per the National Institute on Drug Addiction, hallucinogens affect a person’s thoughts, feelings, and awareness. Hallucinations are sensory perceptions that seem real but aren’t brought on by hallucinogenic drugs.
Confusion, delirium, rambling thoughts and ideas, and auditory and visual hallucinations are just a few of the symptoms linked to changes in perception that Angel’s trumpet has been shown to elicit.
Uses & Effectiveness – Medical Uses Of Trumpet Leaf Tea
Traditional folk medicine has employed the angel’s trumpet as a psychedelic and a cure-all for anything from pain to wounds.
Although the angel’s trumpet plant itself is not utilized in modern medicine, anticholinergic medications and trumpet leaf tea made from various chemicals found in the plant are frequently given for several ailments.
This Plant is Insufficient Evidence for:
- Nausea
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd)
- Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Urinary Incontinence
- Sleep Disorders
- Depression
- Eye Conditions
More proof is required to assess the usefulness of angel’s trumpet for various uses.
How Toxic Are Angel’s Trumpets?
Angel’s trumpet is unsafe to consume when taken orally. Although the entire plant is deadly, the leaves and seeds are the most lethal. Aside from death, taking angel’s trumpet might result in disorientation, dilated pupils, acute thirst, dry skin, flushing, fever, high or low blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat, breathing difficulties, hallucinations, nervousness, memory loss, convulsions, paralysis, and coma.
Even though the angel’s trumpet plant has a lovely appearance, some of the alkaloids found in its leaves, petals, and seeds are dangerous, such as:
- Atropine
- Scopolamine
- Hyoscyamine
All three substances block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, essential for nerve transmission in the nervous system. All three substances are anticholinergic. Anticholinergic substances can impede the parasympathetic neural system and impact the heart, digestive system, and others.
According to studies, eating as few as ten blossoms from an angel’s trumpet plant can cause toxicity-related mortality.
14 Special Precautions and Warnings
Angel’s trumpet is unsafe to consume when taken orally. Although the entire plant is deadly, the leaves and seeds are the most lethal. Aside from death, taking angel’s trumpet might result in disorientation, dilated pupils, acute thirst, dry skin, flushing, fever, high or low blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat, breathing difficulties, hallucinations, nervousness, memory loss, convulsions, paralysis, and coma. Anybody using the angel’s trumpet is NOT SAFE.
Angel’s trumpet, however, poses a particular threat to those who have the following conditions:
- When used orally, an angel’s trumpet is UNSAFE during pregnancy and while nursing. The entire plant is regarded as toxic.
- Children should not consume Angel’s trumpet. Both children who unintentionally consumed angel’s trumpet and teenagers who used it recreationally have experienced severe poisoning.
- Angel’s trumpet may cause a rapid heartbeat and exacerbate congestive heart failure (CHF), in which the body accumulates fluid.
- The angel’s trumpet might aggravate constipation.
- Individuals with Down syndrome may be susceptible to the harmful effects of an angel’s trumpet.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as persistent heartburn or GERD, is when stomach fluids flow backward the esophagus that connects the mouth and the stomach. Angel’s trumpet can delay stomach emptying, which may exacerbate this illness.
- Angel’s trumpet may exacerbate a fever.
- Angel’s trumpet may impede stomach emptying and aggravate stomach ulcers.
- A group of eye conditions (glaucoma) that can cause vision loss. This means the pressure inside the eye could increase due to an angel’s trumpet. This might exacerbate narrow-angle glaucoma.
- Atony, paralytic ileus, and stenosis block the gastrointestinal tract; an angel’s trumpet may worsen these disorders.
- The angel’s trumpet may exacerbate tachycardia, a rapid heartbeat.
- Angel’s trumpet may exacerbate ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel illness.
- Angel’s trumpet might make urinary problems worse.
Interactions
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Drying medications (Anticholinergic drugs)
Chemicals in angel’s trumpet have a drying effect. Using an angel’s trumpet with drying drugs can result in adverse reactions like dry skin, lightheadedness, low blood pressure, quick heartbeat, and other dangerous ones. The heart and brain are also affected. These side effects can also be brought on by anticholinergic medicines, which dry up the body.
Atropine, scopolamine, and certain antihistamines for allergies and depression are a few of these drying drugs (antidepressants).
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Dosing
The right amount of trumpet leaf tea depends on several variables, including the user’s age, health, and other situations. An acceptable dosing range for an angel’s trumpet cannot be determined due to insufficient scientific data. Remember that dosages can be crucial and that natural products aren’t always safe. Before using, read and follow all the instructions on the product labels and speak with your pharmacist, doctor, or another healthcare expert.
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Angel’s Trumpet And A Devil’s Trumpet – What Is The Difference?
The devil’s trumpet is a different blooming plant in the nightshade family that has trumpet-shaped flowers (Datura). On the other hand, the blossoms of devil’s trumpet plants typically point downward, as opposed to upward, like those of angel trumpet plants.
The devil’s trumpet plant also has tiny, rounded, prickly seed pods, earning it the “thornapple.” The devil’s trumpet and the angel’s trumpet are poisonous to people and animals.
Treatment For Angel’s Trumpet Poisoning
Treatment is required to lessen the effects of the poison or toxin and, if necessary, stabilize the person’s vital signs, just like it is in any suspected case of poisoning. Treatment for angel trumpet poisoning may involve detoxification, medicine, and close observation until the symptoms subside.
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Detoxification
Detoxification is the process of preventing the body from absorbing any more of the ingested poison or toxin.
Typically, a liquid-activated charcoal combination is given first to limit additional absorption. However, gastric lavage (stomach pumping) or endoscopic plant removal can also be required in moderate or severe poisoning cases.
The same fact that activated charcoal is used as a first-aid for toxin ingestion is what makes it so hazardous to take frequently. It can conflict with any medications you’ve consumed that day if used as a food color. Always take activated charcoal as a physician or a poison control center prescribes.
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Medication
Medication is occasionally required for severe angel trumpet poisoning, particularly for symptoms like delirium. To assist in neutralizing poisons that have already been absorbed, an antidote called physostigmine salicylate (physostigmine) can be promptly delivered intravenously. Moreover, benzodiazepines can occasionally sedate or relax patients while receiving treatment.
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Monitoring
Monitoring is crucial to spotting any newly appearing symptoms and tracking treatment efficacy. Usually, this entails giving the patient extra fluids to stay hydrated and monitoring their vital signs to see if their symptoms are improving.
Being Cautious of Trumpet Leaf Tea…
Although it can make a stunning addition to any garden or greenhouse, it’s critical to realize that the angel’s trumpet plant contains toxins harmful to people and animals. The angel’s trumpet plant’s leaves, petals, or seeds can cause severe poisoning or, in some circumstances, even death. Call the poison control hotline immediately if you think you or someone you love may have accidentally consumed a poisonous plant, and get emergency medical help if necessary.
