It is also used to trigger vomiting, cause sleepiness (sedation), reduce pain, and increase interest in sexual activity. People take European mandrake root for treating stomach ulcers, colic, constipation, asthma, hay fever, convulsions, arthritis-like pain (rheumatism), and whooping cough.

A third variant, Mandragora turcomanica, is a nearly extinct and very rare variety, found mostly in Turkey and a few areas of Iran. The sweet -smelling fruits resemble small yellow apples. The flowers emerge in a cluster from the center of the plant, and depending on the species, range in color from a yellow-green to bluish-purple. Mandrakes are stemless, perennial herbs with large taproots that can grow up to two feet in length. Also known as VP-16, this epipodophyllotoxin is used in SCLC and NSCLC, among many others. Which drug is made from Mandrake? Etoposide is a semisynthetic derivative of podophyllotoxin, a substance found naturally in the mandrake plant. Blurred vision, dry mouth, dizziness, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are common initial symptoms.

These produce hallucinogenic effects as well as narcotic, emetic and purgative results. What happens if you eat a mandrake?Īll parts of mandrake plants contain the alkaloids hyoscamine and scopolamine. They all contain powerful alkaloids that affect the human body. The mandrake is just one of 2,500 species belonging to the Solanaceae family, which also contains tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, aubergines, peppers, tobacco, deadly nightshade and henbane – they are commonly called the Nightshades. Rachel sees the mandrakes as a way for her to bear a child with Jacob! Then Leah has another child (Issachar), and another (Zebulun), and another (Dinah). Mandrakes were believed to be a stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women.

In the story, Rachel used the berries of the plant to conceive a child. One of the oldest references to mandrake is from the Bible and probably dates to 4,000 B.C. It is a perennial herb with a large root and poisonous fruits. Still, Leah shows us how God often compassionately blesses us even when we act manipulatively to get our way.Mandrake is native to the Mediterranean region. By these two facts, the Lord shows His people that their superstitions are worthless, for He is sovereign over procreation. Ironically, the blessing of fertility comes not to the one who ate the “magical” fruit, but to the one who gave it away. Moses tells us God listened to Leah and gave her a son even though her prayer is not recorded (vv. Both women are willing to barter for relational and sexual intimacy, things that should never be so grossly traded. 30:15) and is plainly more concerned to bear children of her own than she is for her sister’s welfare. Rachel, in a sense, prostitutes Jacob by offering him to Leah for the desired fruit (Gen. 7:1–5) is evident in her willingness to trade the rare mandrakes for just one night with him. It is no wonder that Leah accuses Rachel of stealing her husband since Jacob’s profound and sinful neglect of Leah (1 Cor. Rachel and Leah are both showing superstition by putting their hope in a plant without asking God’s blessing on the potential medicine (Ps. Rachel herself has not borne any children, Leah has become temporarily infertile (29:31–30:13), and both are seeking a cure in the mandrake.Īgain, the primary players in the chapter do not come off all that positively. 28:5), explains why both Leah and Rachel desired the plant. These qualities, coupled with the fact it was only rarely found in Paddan-aram where they lived (Gen. It has been desired in many cultures because of a belief that it is an aphrodisiac and promotes fertility. The mandrake is a Mediterranean plant with blue flowers in the winter and yellow, plum-like fruit in the summer. Verse 14 begins with a record of the time Rachel requested the mandrakes Reuben found for his mother Leah during the wheat harvest. Though doubtlessly well-known, the unspoken hostility between Rachel and her sister finds expression publicly in today’s passage. The tension that has been present for years in Jacob’s family due to the manner in which his wives envied each other comes to a boiling point after the birth of Asher to Leah’s maidservant (Gen.

Mandrake fruit in bible