Veratrum album
| White Hellebore | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Liliales |
| Family: | Melanthiaceae |
| Genus: | Veratrum |
| Species: | V. album |
| Binomial name | |
| Veratrum album L. |
|
Veratrum album, commonly known as false helleborine, white hellebore, European white hellebore, white veratrum; syn. Veratrum lobelianum Bernh.[1]), is a poisonous medicinal plant[2][3] of the Liliaceae (lily family) or Melanthiaceae which is native to Europe.
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Plant description [edit]
The plant is a perennial herb with a stout vertical rhizome covered with remnants of old leaf sheaths. The stems are stout, simple, 50 to 175 cm tall. They have been mistaken for yellow gentian, Gentiana lutea, which is used in beverages, resulting in poisoning.[4][5][6]
Resveratrol has been isolated from it.[7]
Uses [edit]
The root is very poisonous, with a paralyzing effect on the nervous system.[1] In two cases of fatal poisoning from eating the seeds, the toxins veratridine and cevadine were present in the blood at 0.17–0.40 nanograms/milliliter and 0.32–0.48 nanograms/milliliter, respectively. In 1983 sneezing powders produced from the herb in West Germany were reported to have caused severe intoxications in Scandinavia.[8]
History [edit]
In antiquity, an effective emetic based on white hellebore and a bitter oval seed (which Hahneman believed was the seed of erigeron or senecio) was mixed by the physicians of Antikyra, a city of Phokis in Greece.[9]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Veratrum album at Plants For A Future
- ^ Felter, Harvey Wickes. (1922) The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
- ^ Felter, Harvey Wickes; Lloyd, John Uri. (1898) King's American Dispensatory.
- ^ Zagler, B.; Zelger, A.; Salvatore, C.; Pechlaner, C.; De Giorgi, F.; Wiedermann, C. (2005). "Dietary poisoning with Veratrum album--a report of two cases". Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 117 (3): 106–108. doi:10.1007/s00508-004-0291-x. PMID 15773425.
- ^ Rauber-Lüthy, C.; Halbsguth, U.; Kupferschmidt, H.; König, N.; Mégevand, C.; Zihlmann, K.; Ceschi, A. (2010). "Low-Dose Exposure to Veratrum album in Children Causes Mild Effects -- A Case Series". Clinical Toxicology 48 (3): 234–237. doi:10.3109/15563650903575243. PMID 20170391.
- ^ Verovnik F. (1999). "Naključna zastrupitev z belo čmeriko" [Accidental Poisoning with White Hellebore]. Zdravniški Vestnik (in Czech) 68 (3): 157–160.
- ^ Delmas, D.; Lançon, A.; Colin, D.; Jannin, B.; Latruffe, N. (2006). "Resveratrol as a Chemopreventive Agent: A Promising Molecule for Fighting Cancer". Current Drug Targets 7 (3): 423–442. PMID 16611030.
- ^ Fogh, A.; Kulling, P.; Wickstrom, E. (1983). "Veratrum Alkaloids in Sneezing-Powder a Potential Danger". Clinical Toxicology 20 (2): 175–179. doi:10.3109/15563658308990062. PMID 6887310.
- ^ Hahnemann, Samuel (1852), "A Medical Historical Dissertation on the Helleborism of the Ancients", The Lesser writings of Samuel Hahnemann, William Radde, p. 604, para. 117
External links [edit]
Media related to Veratrum album at Wikimedia Commons
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