Chelidonium majus

Chelidonium majus, commonly known as greater celandine, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae). It is one of two species in the genus Chelidonium. It is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America.

Chelidonium majus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Tribe: Chelidonieae
Genus: Chelidonium
Species:
C. majus
Binomial name
Chelidonium majus
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Chelidonium cavaleriei H.Lév.
  • Chelidonium dahuricum DC.
  • Chelidonium grandiflorum DC.
  • Chelidonium haematodes Moench
  • Chelidonium laciniatum Mill.
  • Chelidonium luteum Gilib. nom. inval.
  • Chelidonium murale P.Renault
  • Chelidonium olidum Tarscher. ex Ott
  • Chelidonium quercifolium Willemet
  • Chelidonium ruderale Salisb.
  • Chelidonium umbelliferum Stokes

While greater celandine belongs to the poppy family, lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) belongs to the buttercup family.

Description

Greater celandine is a perennial herb with an erect habit, and reaches 30–120 cm (12–47 in) high. The blue-green[3] leaves are pinnate with lobed and wavy margins, up to 30 cm (12 in) long. When injured, the plant exudes a yellow to orange latex, or sap.[3][4]:96

The flowers consist of four yellow petals, each about 18 mm (0.71 in) long, with two sepals. A double-flowered variety occurs naturally. The flowers appear from late spring to summer, May to September (in UK),[3] in umbelliform cymes of about 4 flowers.

The seeds are small and black, borne in a long, cylindrical capsule. Each has an elaiosome, which attracts ants to disperse the seeds (myrmecochory).[3]

  • A leaf and an open flower
  • Flowers
  • Fruits

Taxonomy and naming

The greater celandine is one of the many species described by the father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, in volume one of his Species Plantarum in 1753.[5]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name celandine comes from Late Latin celidonia, from earlier Latin chelidonia or chelidonium, and ultimately from Ancient Greek χελιδόνιον, from χελιδών (chelidṓn) "swallow", hence the common name "swallowwort". Ancient writers said that the flower bloomed when the swallows returned and faded when they left.[6][7] Chelidonium majus has also been called great celandine,[8], nipplewort,[8] tetterwort, or simply "celandine".[8] The common name tetterwort also refers to Sanguinaria canadensis.

In Devon it is also known as St John's wort.[9]

Distribution and habitat

Chelidonium majus is native in most regions of Europe. It is also found in North Africa in Macaronesia, Algeria and Morocco. In Western Asia it is found in the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Iran and Turkey.[8]

Ecology

It is considered an aggressive invasive plant in parts of North America, and an invasive plant in other areas. In Wisconsin, for example, it is a restricted plant.[10][11] Control is obtained mainly via pulling or spraying the plant before seed dispersal.

Constituents and pharmacology
A cut stem dripping with yellow latex

The whole plant is toxic in moderate doses as it contains a range of isoquinoline alkaloids; use in herbal medicine requires the correct dose.[12] The main alkaloid present in the herb and root is coptisine. Other alkaloids present include methyl 2'-(7,8-dihydrosanguinarine-8-yl)acetate, allocryptopine,[13] stylopine, protopine, norchelidonine, berberine, chelidonine, sanguinarine, chelerythrine,[14] and 8-hydroxydihydrosanguinarine.[15] Sanguinarine is particularly toxic with an LD50 of 18 mg per kg body weight (IP in rats).[16] Caffeic acid derivatives, such as caffeoylmalic acid, are also present.[17]

The characteristic latex also contains proteolytic enzymes and the phytocystatin chelidostatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor.[18] It is a traditional folk remedy against warts in France.[19]

Chelidonium is used to make Ukrain, a drug that has been promoted for, but is not known to be effective for, the treatment of cancer and viral infections.[20][21]

The fresh herb is no longer used officially. No dose-finding studies exist and the reported clinical studies are characterised by a considerable heterogeneity.[22]

Except for homeopathic medicines, the drug is no longer used in most English-speaking countries. In Germany and Switzerland, extracts of Chelidoni herba are a controversial component of the gastric remedy "Iberogast". The OTC-preparation is a top-selling product for the company Bayer, which is now under investigation for not warning consumers from possible hepatotoxic side-effects when taking the drug. Elevated liver-enzymes and toxic hepatitis with a documented fatality have been reported.[23][24]

The plant is poisonous to chickens.[25]

Herbalism

The aerial parts and roots of greater celandine are used in herbalism. The above-ground parts are gathered during the flowering season and dried at high temperatures. The root is harvested in autumn between August and October and dried. The fresh rhizome is also used. Celandine has a hot and bitter taste. Preparations are made from alcoholic and hot aqueous extractions (tea). The related plant bloodroot has similar chemical composition and uses as greater celandine.

As far back as Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides (1st century CE) this herb has been recognized as a useful detoxifying agent. The root has been chewed to relieve toothache.[26] John Gerard's Herball (1597) states that "the juice of the herbe is good to sharpen the sight, for it cleanseth and consumeth away slimie things that cleave about the ball of the eye and hinder the sight and especially being boiled with honey in a brasen vessell."[27]

It was formerly used by some Romani people as a foot refresher; modern herbalists use its purgative properties.[28] The modern herbalist Juliette de Baïracli Levy recommended greater celandine diluted with milk for the eyes and the latex for getting rid of warts.[29] Chelidonium was a favourite herb of the French herbalist Maurice Mességué. Chelidonium majus has traditionally been used for treatment of various inflammatory diseases including atopic dermatitis.[30] It is also traditionally used in the treatment of gallstones and dyspepsia.[31]

The Iroquois give an infusion of whole plant, another plant and milk to pigs that drool and have sudden movements.[32]

It was also once used to treat liver disorders, owing to the juice's resemblance to bile.[33]

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References
  1. "Chelidonium minus L.". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2018-07-28 – via The Plant List.
  2. "Chelidonium majus subsp. grandiflorum (DC.) Printz". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2018-07-28 – via The Plant List.
  3. Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader's Digest. 1981. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-276-00217-5.
  4. Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN 978-1-5272-2630-2.
  5. Linnaeus C (1753). "Tomus I". Species Plantarum (in Latin). Stockholm: Laurentii Salvii. p. 505.
  6. "Swallow". Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1989.
  7. Hanzlik, P.J. (1920). "The pharmacology of chelidonin, a neglected alkaloid of chelidonium, or tetterwort". Journal of the American Medical Association. 75 (20): 1324–1325. doi:10.1001/jama.1920.02620460022007.
  8. "Chelidonium majus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. Grigson, Geoffrey (1975). The Englishman's Flora. St Albans: Paladin. p. 59. ISBN 0586082093.
  10. "Chapter NR 40 INVASIVE SPECIES IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION AND CONTROL" (PDF). wisconsin.gov. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. "Invasive Plant Atlas of New England". Archived from the original on 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  12. Gruenwald, Joerg (2000). PDR for Herbal Medicines. Thomson PDR. ISBN 978-1-56363-361-4.
  13. Cahlikova L., Opletal L., Kurfurst M., Macakova K., Kulhankova A., Host'alkova A.,"Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory compounds from Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae)." Natural Product Communications. 5 (11) (pp 1751–1754), 2010. Date of Publication: 2010.
  14. Li X.-L., Yao J.-Y., Zhou Z.-M., Shen J.-Y., Ru H.-S., Liu X.-L.,"Activity of the chelerythrine, a quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid from Chelidonium majus L. on Dactylogyrus intermedius." Parasitology Research. 109 (1) (pp 247-252), July 2011
  15. Park J.E., Cuong T.D., Hung T.M., Lee I., Na M., Kim J.C., Ryoo S., Lee J.H., Choi J.S., Woo M.H., Min B.S.,"Alkaloids from Chelidonium majus and their inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 21 (23) (pp 6960-6963), 2011. Date of Publication: 01 Dec 2011.
  16. Golob, Peter; Caroline Moss; Melanie Dales; Alex Fidgen; Jenny Evans; Irene Gudrups (1999). The use of spices and medicinals as bioactive protectants for grains. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin. 137. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization. ISBN 978-92-5-104294-6. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  17. Hahn, R.; Nahrstedt, A. (1993). "Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives, Caffeoylmalic and New Caffeoylaldonic Acid Esters, from Chelidonium majus*,1". Planta Medica. 59 (1): 71–5. doi:10.1055/s-2006-959608. PMID 17230338.
  18. Rogelj, B.; et al. (1998). "Chelidocystatin, a novel phytocystatin from Chelidonium majus". Phytochemistry. 49 (6): 1645–9. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(98)00281-7. PMID 9862139.
  19. La chélidoine, une plante contre la verrue dans Science et avenir 2016
  20. "Celandine". American Cancer Society. August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  21. Edzard Ernst (14 October 2012). "A telling story about "alternative" cancer cures and their purveyors". Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  22. "Assessment report on Chelidonium majus L., herba" (PDF). European Medicines Agency. January 20, 2012.
  23. F. Pantano, G. Mannocchi, E. Marinelli, S. Gentili, S. Graziano, F.P. Busardò, N.M. di Luca "Hepatotoxicity induced by greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.): a review of the literature." Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21 (1 Suppl): 46-52. Retrieved 21 July 2019
  24. Aiolfi S (July 2019). Bayer-Medikament im Fokus der Staatsanwaltschaft(in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  25. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 671. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
  26. Chevallier, Andrew (1996). The encyclopedia of medicinal plants. New York: DK Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-7894-1067-2.
  27. Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1.
  28. Howard, Michael (1987-05-21). Traditional Folk Remedies. Century Paperbacks. Ebury Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0-7126-1731-4.
  29. Bailes M., "The Healing Garden", ISBN 978-0-7318-0753-6
  30. Gabsik Yang; Kyungjin Lee; Mi-Hwa Lee; So-Hyung Kim; In-Hye Ham; Ho-Young Choi (2011). "Inhibitory effects of Chelidonium majus extract on atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 138 (2): 398–403. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2011.09.028. PMID 21963561.
  31. Gabriela Mazzanti; Antonella di Sotto; Antonio Franchitto; Caterina Loredana Mammola; Paola Mariani; Sabina Mastrangelo; Francesca Menniti-Ippolito; Annabella Vitalone (2009). "Chelidonium majus is not hepatotoxic in Wistar rats, in a 4 weeks feeding experiment". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 126 (3): 518–524. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.09.004. PMID 19761826.
  32. Rousseau, Jacques 1945 Le Folklore Botanique De Caughnawaga. Contributions de l'Institut botanique l'Universite de Montreal 55:7-72 (p. 45)
  33. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 671. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
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