a common pursuit of alchemists throughout history. the elixir of life is a famous potion that aimed to create eternal youth. during the chinese dynasties, this elixir of life was often recreated and drunk by emperors, nobles and officials. in india, there is a myth of the potion amrita, a drink of immortality made out of nectar. ayahuasca ayahuasca, is a hallucinogenic plant-based potion used in many parts of the world. it was first created by indigenous south americans from the amazon basin as a spiritual medicine. the potion was often administered by a shaman during a ceremony. the potion contains the boiled stems of the ayahuasca vine and leaves from the chacruna plant. chacruna contains dimethyltryptamine (also known as dmt), a psychedelic drug. the potion caused users to vomit or 'purge' and induced hallucinations. folklore potions or mixtures are common within many of local mythologies. in particular, references to love potions are common in many cultures. yusufzai witches, for example, would bathe a recently deceased leatherworker and sell the water to those seeking a male partner; this practice is said to exist in a modified form in modern times. famous potions in literature the love potion by evelyn de morgan.potions have played a critical role in many pieces of literature. shakespeare wrote potions into many of his plays including a love potion in a midsummer night’s dream, poison in hamlet, and juliet takes a potion to fake her death in romeo and juliet. in the harry potter series, potions also play a main role. the students are required to attend potion classes and knowledge of potions often becomes a factor for many of the characters. in the fairytale "the little mermaid" by hans christian andersen, the little mermaid wishes to become human and have an immortal soul. she visits the sea witch who sells her a potion, in exchange for which she cuts out the little mermaid's tongue. the sea witch makes the potion using her own blood that she cuts from her breast. she warns the little mermaid that it will feel as if she had been cut with a sword when her fin becomes legs, that she will never be able to become a mermaid again, and risks turning into seafoam and not having an immortal soul if she fails to win the prince's love. the little mermaid decides to take the potion which successfully turns her into a human so that she can try to win the love of the prince and an immortal soul. in the novella the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde by robert louis stevenson, dr. henry jekyll creates a potion that transforms him into an evil version of himself called edward hyde. dr. jekyll does not explain how he created this potion because he felt his “discoveries were incomplete,” he only indicates that it requires a “particular salt.” he uses the potion successfully to go back and forth between his normal self, dr. jekyll, and his evil self, mr. hyde. popular ingredients used in potions solanaceous plants in the 11th century, plants belonging to the nightshade family solanaceae were often used as an ingredients in the potions - aphrodisiac or otherwise - and flying ointments of witches. the specific nightshades used in such concoctions were usually tropane alkaloid-containing species belonging to the old world tribes hyoscyameae and mandragoreae. these potions were known as pharmaka diabolika ("devilish drugs"). an illustration of a mandrake plant the root of mandragora officinarum, the celebrated mandrake, fabled in legend to shriek when uprooted, was often used to prepare sleeping potions, although it could prove poisonous in excess, due to its tropane alkaloid content. m. officinarum is native to the mediterranean region. administered in small doses mandrake root has been used in folk medicine as an analgesic, an aphrodisiac and a remedy for infertility. larger doses act as an entheogen of the deliriant class, having the potential to cause profound confusion and dysphoria characterised by realistic hallucinations of an unpleasant character. classical and renaissance authors have left certain accounts of the use of the plant by witches in the preparation of potions intended variously to excite love, cause insanity or even kill. scopolamine, a toxic, delirient alkaloid present in (and named for) scopolia carniolica and also present in mandragora, hyoscyamus and other solanaceae, was used by the infamous dr. crippen to kill his wife. spanish fly in ancient greece, the spanish fly (also known as cantharides) was crushed with herbs and used in love potions. it was believed to be effective due to the bodily warmth that resulted from ingesting it. however, this was actually a result of inflammation from toxins in the tissues of the beetle. ferdinand ii of aragon drank many potions and elixir contains the spanish fly. cochineal cochineal, another type of dye, replaced kermes as an ingredient in confectio alchermes in the 17th and 18th century. cochineal was also heavily used as an ingredient in potions for jaundice. jaundice potions were a mix of cochineal, cream of tartar and venetian soap and patients were directed to take it three times a day. cannabis and opium opium and cannabis has been used in potions throughout human history. potions containing cannabis and/or opium were particularly popular in arabia, persia, and muslim india after the arrival of the drugs around the 9th century. cannabis and opium were a common ingredient used in potions and tinctures sold by apothecaries in 19th-century europe, as the ingredients made patients feel better, and the addictive nature of the drug meant it sold well. nepenthes pharmakon is a famous type of magical potion recorded in homer's odyssey, intended to cure sorrow. pharmakon was the word for medicine in ancient greek. the potion was recreated in the 18th century, and contains both the plant nepenthe and opium.