Lactucarium

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lactucarium
Source plant(s)Lactuca spp.
Part(s) of plantLatex (see also seeds)
Geographic originSouthern Europe
UsesAnalgesic, sleep aid, euphoriant
Legal status
  • In general: unscheduled

Lactucarium is the milky fluid secreted by several species of

euphoria.[1][2] Because it is a latex, lactucarium physically resembles opium
, in that it is excreted as a white fluid and can be reduced to a thick smokable solid.

History

"Lettuce opium" was used by the

Lactuca sativa and Lactuca canadensis var. elongata, and even that lettuce-opium obtained from Lactuca serriola or Lactuca quercina was of superior quality.[7]

In the twentieth century, two major studies found commercial lactucarium to be without effect. In 1944, Fulton concluded, "Modern medicine considers its sleep producing qualities a superstition, its therapeutic action doubtful or nil." Another study of the time identified active

damiana.[8][unreliable source?] More recent work has confirmed that lactucin and lactucopicrin do have analgesic and sedative properties.[9]

The seeds of lettuce have also been used to relieve pain.[medical citation needed] Lettuce seed was listed as an anaesthetic in Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, which served as an authoritative medical textbook from soon after AD 1000 until the seventeenth century.[10]

Contemporary use

Although lactucarium has faded from general use as a pain reliever, it remains available, sometimes promoted as a legal

psychotropic
.

The seed of ordinary lettuce,

folk medicine.[citation needed
]

Chemical constituents

Chemical compounds which occur in lettuce: (1) α-lactucerol (taraxasterol); (2) β-lactucerol (lactucon, lactucerin); (3) lactucin; (4) lactucopicrin

The chemical constituents of lactucarium that have been investigated for biological activity include

formalin and carrageenan tests of laboratory rats. It was not toxic to the rats at a dose of 6 grams per kilogram.[11]

Lactuca virosa contains flavonoids, coumarins, and N-methyl-β-phenethylamine.[12][unreliable source?] A variety of other chemical compounds have been isolated from L. virosa. One of the compounds, lactucin, is an adenosine receptor agonist in vitro,[9][failed verification] while another, lactucopicrin, has been shown to act as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor in vitro.[13]

Lactuca virosa

Lactuca floridana was found to contain 11β,13-Dihydro-lactucin-8-O-acetate hemihydrate.[14]

Formulations

Lactucarium was used unmodified in lozenges, 30–60 

orange-flower water in syrup.[6]

References

  1. ^ Adams C (2005-01-06). "Is iceberg lettuce a drug?". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  2. PMID 12762295
    .
  3. ^ a b Harkins T (2021-05-31). "Wild Lettuce - Everything You Need to Know • New Life On A Homestead". New Life On A Homestead. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  4. PMID 17153150
    .
  5. ^ Felter HW, Lloyd JU (1898). "King's American Dispensary:Tinctura Lactucarii (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Lactucarium". Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  6. ^
    Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1911). "Lactuca, Lactucarium"
    . Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  7. ^ Harvey Wickes Felter, John Uri Lloyd (1898). King's American Dispensatory. Cincinnati: Ohio Valley Co. pp. 1114–1117. See Lactuca.—Lettuce and Tinctura Lactucarii (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Lactucarium at Henriette's Herbal Homepage.
  8. ^ "Lettuce opium". Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  9. ^
    PMID 16621374
    .
  10. PMID 7051568
    .
  11. PMID 15138019
    .
  12. ^ "Wild Lettuce". Holistic Online herb information.
  13. PMID 16472227
    .
  14. PMID 21578003
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lactucarium&oldid=1213228890"