Cullen corylifolium

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Cullen corylifolium
Psoralea corylifolia - Agri-Horticultural Society of India - Alipore - Kolkata 2013-01-05 2282.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Cullen
Species:
C. corylifolium
Binomial name
Cullen corylifolium
(L.) Medik. [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Bipontinia corylifolia(L.) Alef.
  • Dorychnium corylifolium(L.) Moench
  • Lotodes corylifolia(L.) Kuntze
  • Psoralea corylifoliaL.
  • Psoralea patersoniaeSchönland
  • Trifolium unifoliumForssk.

Cullen corylifolium, synonym Psoralea corylifolia, [1] (babchi) is a plant used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine. The seeds of this plant contain a variety of coumarins, including psoralen.

Contents

Used as a dietary supplement, Cullen corylifolium is of no clinical benefit and can cause potentially fatal herb-induced liver injury. [2]

Etymology

Corylifolium comes from similarity of the leaves to those of Corylus , a genus of tree in northern world regions, such as Sweden. [3]

Description

Cullen corylifolium grows 50–90 cm tall and is an annual plant. It has pale-purple flowers in short, condensed, axillary spikes. Its corolla is pale purple. Flowers one-seeded fruits. The most distinctive feature is the occurrence of minute brown glands which are immersed in surface tissue on all parts of the plant, giving it a distinctive and pleasant fragrance. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Cullen corylifolium is native to north-east tropical Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, and tropical and subtropical Asia, including India and Sri Lanka. [1] It was occasionally cultivated in Arabia for its supposed medicinal properties. [3]

Chemical constituents

Cullen corylifolium extract contains numerous phytochemicals, including flavonoids (neobavaisoflavone, isobavachalcone, bavachalcone, bavachinin, bavachin, corylin, corylifol, corylifolin and 6-prenylnaringenin), coumarins (psoralidin, psoralen, isopsoralen and angelicin), meroterpenes (bakuchiol, and 3-hydroxybakuchiol). [4]

Use in traditional medicine

Cullen corylifolium (bu gu zhi 补骨脂 in traditional Chinese medicine) [5] is an herb intended as a therapy for several disorders, such as attempted treatment of lichen planus by psoralen extract combined with sunlight exposure. [6] Mostly as an oral formulation, it is also used in Ayurveda to treat skin disorders, such as psoriasis, vitiligo or leprosy. [2]

There is no good clinical evidence that Cullen corylifolium supplements are effective as a therapy for any disorder. [2]

Rather, supplements of Cullen corylifolium are hepatotoxic from its constituent chemicals causing cholestatic hepatitis. [2] People with liver problems or certain other comorbidities are at risk of death from using Cullen corylifolium supplements. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Cullen corylifolium (L.) Medik". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Philips CA, Theruvath AH (April 2024). "A comprehensive review on the hepatotoxicity of herbs used in the Indian (Ayush) systems of alternative medicine". Medicine (Baltimore). 103 (16): e37903. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000037903. PMC   11029936 . PMID   38640296.
  3. 1 2 3 Miller AG, Morris M (1988). Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional, Economic, and Medicinal Uses. Oman: Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Sultanate of Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN   9780715708088.
  4. Zhao LH, Huang CY, Shan Z, Xiang BG, Mei LH (2005). "Fingerprint analysis of Psoralea corylifolia by HLPC and LC-MS". J Chromatogr B. 821 (1): 67–74. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2005.04.008. PMID   15905140.
  5. Cheng, Xia (2001). Easy Comprehension of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Chinese Materia Medica, Canadian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, p343.
  6. Atzmony, L; Reiter, O; Hodak, E; Gdalevich, M; Mimouni, D (2016). "Treatments for cutaneous lichen planus: A systematic review and meta-analysis". American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. 17 (1): 11–22. doi:10.1007/s40257-015-0160-6. ISSN   1175-0561. PMID   26507510. S2CID   3711429.