![]() ![]() As such, this Potion is very dangerous when incorrectly concocted, since aconite is a very poisonous substance." In the books and films Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, wolfsbane potion is used to treat a man suffering from lycanthropy.Īccording to the Harry Potter Compendium website, "the main ingredient is wolfsbane (also referred to as aconite or monkshood). Monkshood/wolfsbane blossom Wikimedia Commons/Schnobby Monkshood/wolfsbane roots resemble ginger roots but contain a powerful poison called aconitine.Īccording to Fraser Health and the BCCDC, aconitine "can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, irregular ventricular contractions, and in severe cases, death". Drug and Poison Information Centre told consumers not to use Wing Hing brand sand ginger powder because it may contain poisonous monkshood powder, also known as wolfsbane. Centre for Disease Control, Fraser Health, and the B.C. health officials have issued a warning to not consume a type of ginger powder sold in Burnaby recently. 'In the caldron boil and bake Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog' Macbeth.B.C. However, whether or not the concentration of the product would increase is dependent on the type of reaction. The increased temperature would also give the molecules more kinetic energy and the reaction would proceed faster. Boiling has long been known to sterilise water and destroy pathogenic, disease causing micro-organisms. It is also significant that the witches were boiling their broth. The plants are some of the most poisonous species found in Western Europe and it is evident that Shakespeare was aware of their lethal nature. Though the witches potion is a magical creation, the deathly potential of the ingredients used is very much real. The plant contains the highly toxic alkaloid taxine which if ingested can cause rapid death through cardiac arrest. The witches also add yew ( Taxus baccata). Füssli's painting, Wellcome Library, London Macbeth and Banquo meet the three witches on a heath, Engraving by W. The root of the plant, used by the witches in their deadly concoction is known to have the highest toxicity concentration of all of the plant. Even in low doses, the plant can cause respiratory failure and death. Amongst human organs and animal parts, the witches use the root of the deadly hemlock ( Conium maculatum), a highly poisonous plant known to have a chemical structure and pharmacological properties similar to nicotine. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the three witches brew a potion with ingredients chosen to symbolise incredible evil. Viola tricolor creative commons on Flickr Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesiasīee on pansy creative commons on Flickr Orangeaurochs There does however exist a 'love hormone' known as oxytocin which can foster feelings of love or affection in humans, and the hormone dopamine which is released when we kiss, has been found to stimulate the same areas of the brain as heroin and cocaine. Cytotoxic chemicals can kill whole cells so may be able to treat diseases caused by uncontrolled growth, like cancers. ![]() Scientifically speaking, viola tricolor is not able to induce love, but extracts from the plant have been shown to be anti-microbial and cytotoxic. Many insects can also see a broader spectrum of light than humans including ultraviolet, which means that flowers look significantly different in 'insect view'. In the natural world, petal colour is an important feature of plants, as insects use petal designs to determine where they should land to collect nectar. ![]() ![]() Puck then places the potion on the sleeping eyes of Lysander, and later Demetrius which causes chaos in the forest. The petals turn from white to purple, and the flower's juice becomes a love potion. The potion is created when Cupid shoots an arrow at 'the imperial votaress' (Queen Elizabeth I), but misses and instead hits the flower. One of Shakespeare's most famous love potions is used by the fairy Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and made from a flower called ‘love-in-idleness’, otherwise known as the wild pansy (Viola tricola). ![]()
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