Veratrum

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Veratrum
Veratrum album
Veratrum album
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Melanthiaceae
Genus: Veratrum
L.
Species

See text.

Veratrum is a genus of coarse highly poisonous perennial herbs of the Melanthiaceae family. In English they are usually known as the False hellebores. Members of Veratrum are known both in western herbalism and traditional Chinese medicine as toxic herbs to be used with great caution. It is one of the medicinals {"Li lu") cited in Chinese herbal texts as incompatible with many other common herbs because of its potentiating effects.

Veratrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Setaceous Hebrew Character.

Birth defects in livestock grazing on Veratrum californicum (native to the western United States) led to the study of cyclopamine and jervine which are important in animal developmental biology including cancer treatment.

Contents

[edit] Distribution

Widely distributed in montane habitats throughout North America. Veratrum species prefer full sunlight and deep, wet soils, and are common in wet mountain meadows, swamps, and near streambanks. Veratrum species occur from Alaska south into the mountains of California, and are widely distributed throughout the Rocky Mountains. Veratrum is very abundant in Eastern North America from Quebec southward through the Appalachians into North Carolina.

[edit] Uses and toxicity

Veratrum species contain highly toxic steroidal alkaloids that can cause rapid cardiac failure and death if ingested or introduced into the bloodstream. Native Americans used the juice pressed from the roots of this plant to poison arrows before combat. The dried powdered root of this plant was also used as an insecticide. [1]

Veratrum species are an important source of life-saving medications used in modern medical preparations which lower blood pressure, slow the heartbeat, and are used for cancer treatment. Cyclopamine derived from Veratrum species is a potent teratogen that is an effective treatment for several deadly and malignant cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, glioblastoma, and multiple myeloma [2].

During the winter months, when the plant enters its dormant stage, it degrades and metabolizes most of its toxic alkaloids. Herbalists and Native Americans who used this plant for medicinal purposes harvested the roots during the winter months when the levels of toxic constituents were at their lowest. Veratrum species produce highly toxic steroidal alkaloids only when the plants are in active growth. The root and the seeds are the most poisonous parts of the plant.

Western American Indian tribes have a long history of the use of this plant as an effective treatment for cancerous tumors, and combined minute amounts of the winter-harvested root of this plant with Salvia dorii to potentiate its effects and reduce the toxicity of the herb. The plants teratogenic properties and ability to induce severe birth defects were well known to Native Americans. [3]

[edit] Selected species

Leaves of Veratrum lobelianum

Leaves of Veratrum lobelianum

Leaves of Veratrum lobelianum

Young Veratrum lobelianum
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[edit] External links

  1. ^ Edible and Medicinal plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1
  2. ^ Beachy, Philip A. (2000-08-31). "Effects of oncogenic mutations in Smoothened and Patched can be reversed by cyclopamine". Nature 406 (6799): 1005–9. doi:10.1038/35023008.  PubMed
  3. ^ Edible and Medicinal plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1


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