Phytolacca americana

Phytolacca americana

(records of medicinal plants in Hangzhou)

[synonyms] Phytolacca florica and wild Rouge (Hangzhou medicinal plant records), white scabby chicken woman and white chicken leg (Jiangxi herbal medicine manual).

[source] it is the root, leaf and seed of Phytolacca americana.

Phytomorphology Phytolacca americana

Perennial herbs, 1.5-2 m high, all glabrous and smooth. The root is stout, conical and water red. Branches many, round and slightly angular, tender green, old red. Leaves alternate; leaves ovate oblong, or oblong lanceolate, 10-14 cm long, 4-6 cm wide, apex pointed, base narrow, soft, pinnate reticulate veins, protruding to the back of leaves; petiole 2 cm long, old petiole and main vein reddish, raceme terminal or lateral, 20 cm long, pedicel pink; flowers inserted in the axils of scaly bracts; sepals 5, imbricate , white or light pink; apetalous; stamen 10, filaments white; pistil 10, ovary superior, ovule curved, style very short. The fruit ear is drooping, the berry is spherical, and the calyx is persistent. Seeds ca. 3 mm long, black and glossy. It blooms in summer.

Cultivate plants.

[chemical constituents] phytolac toxin and curcumin were found in the root. A mitogen with molecular weight of 32000 was isolated. It contained 3.2% monosaccharide, 1.4% hexosamine and 19% cystine. It contains phytosterol, TRIACONTANE, arachidonic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, heptadecanoic acid, oleanolic acid and potassium nitrate.

The leaves contain flavonoids: kaempferol and its 3-d-glucoside, astragalus, renoside, Isoquercitrin, nicotinoside, rutin, etc.

The mature fruit contains reddish brown pigment, about 95% of which is phytolaccolin. The fruit contains 9.3% pigment (dry weight), quercetin-3-l-arabinose-7-d-glucoside, fructose 1.4%, glucose 4.6% and alkaloid 2.2%. The seed contains 12% fat koji, α - spinasterol, TRIACONTANE and acetyloleanolic acid.

[pharmacological action] the water-soluble saponin of Phytolacca americana has local stimulating effect and can cause vomiting. Its alcohol extract contains resin like substance, which has a strong inhibitory effect on the central nervous system. 50 mg / kg can cause cat death. In cats, 5-10 ml of fluid extract caused severe vomiting, followed by exhaustion. 1 ml of flow extract (without alcohol) can inhibit the cat's breathing and circulation, 4 ml can make the heart and breathing stop. The vomiting caused by Americana is slow, which starts after 1-2 hours of medication and lasts for a long time. There is no severe pain or spasm during vomiting, but there are some anesthetic phenomena, such as drowsiness, dizziness and blurred vision. Excessive vomiting is more severe and diarrhea, severe failure, and sometimes convulsion and death. All parts of this plant, especially roots and immature fruits, are toxic to human beings, cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. Toxic ingredients can be destroyed by boiling. The results showed that the extract of fruits was slightly toxic to rats, rabbits and cats by oral administration, intraperitoneal injection and intravenous injection. The poisoning symptom was mild inhibition. After intravenous injection, the blood pressure of rabbits and cats increased gradually, with occasional extrasystole. Due to the decrease of diastolic blood pressure, the pulse pressure increased, and the respiratory frequency and depth decreased. People eat berries can cause diarrhea.

Root powder has strong irritation to the eyes, inhalation can cause rhinitis and headache. Topical application of the concentrated decoction of American Shanglu juice or root can stimulate the skin. Root can cause sneezing, emesis and diarrhea, and has anesthetic effect. Phytolacrine and phytolac toxin are the components causing poisoning, and the latter has the effect similar to tetrandrine. Acid steroidal saponin isolated from root is also one of the toxic components in root. It can kill sperm in test tube, and has been used as contraceptive in clinic.

Phytolacca americana extract also has the function of hemagglutinin, leukocyte agglutinin and mitogen. The extract of leaves has antibacterial effect on Staphylococcus aureus. The boiling water extract of stem had weak antibacterial effect on E. coli, but flowers and leaves had no effect on it.

Phytolacca acinosa, collected from the suburb of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, is similar to Phytolacca americana in plant morphology. 5% water extract has obvious pupil dilating effect on rabbits, but alcohol extract has poor effect, while stem and leaf have little effect. No corneal haze or ulcer was found during the experiment, and a few rabbits had very slight bulbar conjunctival vascular congestion and edema.

[nature and taste] Jiangxi Chinese herbal medicine: "the taste is slightly sweet, then bitter, long chewing numb tongue, with little poison. "

[functions and indications] ① Hangzhou medicine Zhi: "diuretic drugs, for chronic nephritis, pleurisy, cardiac edema, ascites, beriberi and other general edema; external use can treat unknown swelling toxin and skin parasitic diseases. "

② Jiangxi herbal medicine manual: "it can cure leucorrhea, rheumatism, and has emetic effect; seeds can diuresis; leaves have antipyretic effect, and treat beriberi. "

[caution] this product is toxic and should be used with caution.

[selected formula] for treating leucorrhea: 1 to 2 liang of American commercial Radix Polygoni Multiflori. Stew with half a catty of pork. (Jiangxi herbal medicine manual)

Chinese PinYin : Mei Shang Lu