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   978-0-7157-0808-8.
  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.
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