Sagas of the Solanaceae: Speculative ethnobotanical perspectives on the Norse berserkers

ConclusionsWith its anticholinergic tropane alkaloids and symptom profile, H. niger is a much more likely cause of the berserker state than A muscaria. Though there is not enough archaeological and historical evidence to prove or disprove this theory, it provides a novel explanation that is at present the most viable means of understanding the berserkers' trance.
Source: Journal of Ethnopharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research