NIS - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

WHO monographs on medicinal plants commonly used in the Newly Independent States (NIS)
H 3
CO
O
O
N +
O
O
N
H
O
HO
H
H
berberine chelidonine chelerythrine
sanguinarine
O
O
R'
R
O
N + CH 3
O
O
R = R' = CH 3
R + R' = CH 2
O
O
O
protopine
O
HO 2
C O CO 2
H
O
O
N
CH 3
chelidonic acid
Medicinal uses
Uses supported by clinical data
Used for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate spasms of the
upper gastrointestinal tract, minor gallbladder disorders, and dyspeptic
complaints such as bloating and flatulence (54–56).
Uses described in pharmacopoeias and well established documents
Used externally as an anti-inflammatory agent (2).
Uses described in traditional medicine
Used for the treatment of vision disorders, gallstones, jaundice, irritable
bowel syndrome, migraine, ringworm, whooping cough and warts (57–
60). In Chinese medicine Herba Chelidonii is used as an anti-inflammatory
agent in the treatment of oedemas, inflammation of the eyelids, and in
ulcerative dermatitis (29).
Pharmacology
Experimental pharmacology
Antihepatotoxic activity
An aqueous-ethanolic extract of Herba Chelidonii, containing 41–45% of
ethanol exerted significant hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride
(CCl 4
) toxicity in rats treated with varying doses of the extract.
78