| Fumaria officinalis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Papaveraceae |
| Genus: | Fumaria |
| Species: | F. officinalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Fumaria officinalis | |
Fumaria officinalis, the common fumitory, drug fumitory or earth smoke, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is the most common species of the genus Fumaria in Western and Central Europe.
It is an herbaceous annual plant that grows weakly erect and scrambling, with stalks about 10–50 cm (3.9–19.7 in) long. It has slender green leaves. [1] Its pink 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) flowers appear from April to October in the northern hemisphere, [2] or May to September in the UK. [1] They are two lipped and spurred, with sepals running a quarter the length of the petals. [2] The plant commonly has more than 20 and up to 60 flowers per spike. [3] The fruit is an achene containing one seed. It is approximately globular, slightly wider than high and with an apical notch. [3] It contains alkaloids, potassium salts, and tannins and is also a source of fumaric acid. [4]
It was first formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication 'Species Plantarum' on page 700, in 1753. [5] [6]
There are 2 known subspecies:
The "smoky" or "fumy" origin of its name comes from the translucent color of its flowers, giving them the appearance of smoke or of hanging in smoke, and the slightly gray-blue haze color of its foliage, also resembling smoke coming from the ground, especially after morning dew.
The plant was already called fūmus terrae (smoke of the earth) in the early 13th century, and two thousand years ago, Dioscorides wrote in De Materia Medica (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς) and Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia that rubbing the eyes with the sap or latex of the plant causes tears, like acrid smoke (fūmus) does to the eyes. Its Greek name is kapnos (καπνός, for smoke) and the name fumewort now applies mostly to the genus Corydalis , especially the similar looking Corydalis solida (formerly Fumaria bulbosa), which was thought to belong to the same genus as fumitory. [7]
It is native to temperate regions of North Africa, Europe and parts of Western Asia. [8]
It is found in North Africa, within Macaronesia, Canary Islands, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Within Western Asia it is found in the Caucasus, Cyprus, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Siberia, Syria and Turkey. In eastern Europe, it is found within Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. In middle Europe, it is in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. In northern Europe, in Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. In southeastern Europe, within Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. Also in southwestern Europe, it is found in France, Portugal and Spain. [8]
Usage of this plant as medicine began in Europe in the late Middle Ages, although it was known since antiquity. [4] In 17th century Europe it was publicised as good for the eyes (due to remarks by Pliny and later Olivier de Serres that rubbing its juice in one's eyes caused excessive tearing). [4] [9] The most common traditional uses were as a digestive aid and a diuretic, but various folk traditions throughout Europe ascribed to it a multitude of uses: constipation, cystitis, arteriosclerosis, rheumatism, arthritis, as a blood purifier, for hypoglycaemia, infections, [4] and possibly to cleanse the kidneys. [9] In Sicily and perhaps elsewhere it was used to treat skin blemishes, and in Britain into the modern era as an eyewash to treat conjunctivitis. [4] [9] [10]
Since 1963 it has been marketed as a herbal medicine in France. [4] As of 2011 herbal products made from this plant are legally sold in various forms in Austria, Germany, France and Spain. Products may be legally sold in the British market (it is on the British General Sales List), although no products were sold there as of 2011. In the European Union as a whole marketing of the plant is not necessarily legal: it has been rejected from the Community List by the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products due to the lack of toxicology studies. Products in France and Spain are marketed as a digestive (said to work by increasing bile flow), in Austria it is sold for treatment of dyskinesia of the biliary duct, in Germany it is simply sold as an herbal tea. [4]
There is some evidence from animal models that it modifies abnormal bile flow, although it has no effect on normal choleresis. An antispasmodic effect on the upper digestive tract in vitro and in animal studies is considered sufficiently documented. The efficacy of the herbal products in humans is considered plausible but yet unproven in clinical studies. Numerous clinical studies in its amphocholeretic uses in humans have demonstrated the tolerability and safety of dosages used, but there has only been one small double-blind trial with placebos which was inconclusive regarding efficacy. A larger double-blind trial with placebos investigating and comparing its use in the treatment of pain and distension due to irritable bowel syndrome with Curcuma demonstrated no statistically significant differences between treatment groups (although use of either herb appeared to slightly worsen either distension or pain respectively, compared to placebo use). A number of other potential effects or uses for the plant and its major alkaloid protopine have been researched in vitro or in animal models. [4]
Howard (1987) warns that fumitory is poisonous and should only be used "under the direction of a medical herbalist", [9] but in Europe, no safety problems with its use have been recorded as of 2011. [4] Large doses of protopine in animal models causes excitation and convulsions. Thorough toxicological research on this plant has not been conducted as of 2011. There have been no studies on its safety or effect on pregnant woman, children or elderly. [4]
The plant contains isoquinoline alkaloids protopine and allocryptopine. Both protopine and allocryptopine increased CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 mRNA levels in human hepatocyte cells. The use of products containing protopine and/or allocryptopine may be considered safe in terms of possible induction of CYP1A enzymes. [11]
Borage, also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales.
Petasites hybridus, the butterbur, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia.
The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, but almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae.
Chelidonium majus, the greater celandine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. One of two species in the genus Chelidonium, it is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America.
Fumaria is a genus of about 60 species of annual flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The genus is native to Europe, Africa and Asia, most diverse in the Mediterranean region, and introduced to North, South America and Australia. Fumaria species are sometimes used in herbal medicine. Fumaria indica contains the alkaloids fuyuziphine and alpha-hydrastine. Fumaria indica may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential.
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart, fallopian buds or Asian bleeding-heart, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the fumitory subfamily (fumarioideae) of the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is native to Siberia, northern China, Korea, and Japan. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Lamprocapnos, but is still widely referenced under its old name Dicentra spectabilis, not to be confused with the North American native bleeding heart plants also classified under Dicentra. It is valued in gardens and in floristry for its heart-shaped pink and white flowers, borne in spring.
Borage seed oil is derived from the seeds of the plant, Borago officinalis (borage).
Corydalis flavula is an herbaceous perennial plant native to the eastern United States. Its natural habitat is open woods and slopes.
In enzymology, a methyltetrahydroprotoberberine 14-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.37) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Corydalis ambigua is a tuberous early flowering east Asian flowering plant species in the poppy family Papaveraceae. Its exact native range is obscure due to taxonomic confusion. It is one of the sources of the drug tetrahydropalmatine.
Fumaria parviflora is a species of flowering plant known by the common names fineleaf fumitory, fine-leaved fumitory and Indian fumitory. It is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it is common and widely distributed in many other parts of the world. It is sometimes weedy. The small flowers are dull white with purple tips. The fruit is a rounded nutlet with a central crest.
Corydalis solida, fumewort or bird-in-a-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to moist, shady habitats in northern Europe and Asia. Growing to 25 cm (10 in), it is a spring ephemeral, with foliage that appears in spring and dies down to its tuberous rootstock in summer. It is cultivated for its deeply divided, ferny leaves and narrow, long-spurred flowers which appear in spring. The flowers show color variation, and may be mauve, purple, red, or white.
Symphytum officinale is a perennial flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Along with thirty four other species of Symphytum, it is known as comfrey. To differentiate it from other members of the genus Symphytum, this species is known as common comfrey or true comfrey. Other English names include Quaker comfrey, cultivated comfrey, boneset, knitbone, consound, and slippery-root. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places. It is locally frequent throughout Ireland and Britain on river banks and ditches. It occurs elsewhere, including North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees. Internal or long-term topical use of comfrey is discouraged due to its strong potential to cause liver toxicity.
Officinalis, or officinale, is a Medieval Latin epithet denoting organisms—mainly plants—with uses in medicine, herbalism and cookery. It commonly occurs as a specific epithet, the second term of a two-part botanical name. Officinalis is used to modify masculine and feminine nouns, while officinale is used for neuter nouns.
Fumaria muralis, known as common ramping-fumitory or wall fumitory, is a flowering herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae) native to western Europe and northwestern Africa.
Protopine is an alkaloid occurring in opium poppy, Corydalis tubers and other plants of the family papaveraceae, like Fumaria officinalis. Protopine is metabolically derived from the benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (S)-Reticuline through a progressive series of five enzymatic transformations: 1) berberine bridge enzyme to (S)-Scoulerine; 2) (S)-cheilanthifoline synthase/CYP719A25 to (S)-Cheilanthifoline; 3) (S)-stylopine synthase/CYP719A20 to (S)-Stylopine; 4) (S)-tetrahydroprotoberberine N-methyltransferase to (S)-cis-N-Methylstylopine; and ultimately, 5) N-methylstylopine hydroxylase to protopine.
Ceratocapnos claviculata, the climbing corydalis, is a weak scrambling plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is endemic to Europe, growing mostly near the Atlantic fringe.
Corydalis nobilis, the Siberian corydalis, is a perennial plant native to Siberia, Xinjiang and Kazakhstan. It was introduced to Europe by Linnaeus, who had asked his friend Erich Laxmann for seeds of Lamprocapnos spectabilis, but was sent seeds of C. nobilis instead. Both Lamprocampnos and Corydalis are members of the family Papaveraceae, with seeds having an attached elaiosome that makes them attractive to ants, which disperse the seeds.
Corydalis cava is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to moist, shady, woodland habitats throughout most of mainland Europe, although commonest in central and southeast Europe. Its range extends from Spain in the west to Ukraine, Belarus and the Caucasus in the east and as far north as Sweden. It is absent from Iceland, the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Russia and Greece.
Corydalis mucronifera is a plant which does not have a common name as it is quite rare in nature. This plant has also previously been recorded as Corydalis boweri. Being as rare as it is, it has only been found in two regions: China and Tibet. The range where the plant can be found is small as it is only found near rocky beaches or high mountain ranges at altitudes between 4200 and 5300 meters. Corydalis mucronifera is small in size and displays a variety of colors: purple, yellow, white, and cream. The plant has similar structures to other plants found in Europe and North America as it displays a racemose corymb. Due to its herbal properties, it is currently being studied in medicine for its inhibitory properties; these properties are focused in studies regarding neurodegenerative disorders.
