Ruta graveolens

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Common rue
Common rue in flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Ruta
Species:
R. graveolens
Binomial name
Ruta graveolens

Ruta graveolens, commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus

Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated
as a culinary herb, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent and incense.

Etymology

The specific epithet graveolens refers to the strong-smelling leaves.[1]

Description

Foliage

Rue is a woody,

perennial shrub. Its leaves are oblong, blue green and arranged pinnate; they release a strong aroma when they are bruised.[2]

The flowers are small with 4 to 5 dull yellow petals in clusters. They bear brown seed capsules when pollinated.[2]

Uses

Traditional use

In the ancient Roman world, the naturalists

oleander to be drunk as an antidote to venomous snake bites.[3][4]

Illustration in the Tacuinum Sanitatis

The refined oil of rue is an emmenagogue[5] and was cited by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder and Soranus as an abortifacient (inducing abortion).[6][7]

heraldic banner of Saxony

Culinary use

MHNT

Rue has a culinary use, but since it is bitter and gastric discomfort may be experienced by some individuals, it is used sparingly. Although used more extensively in former times, it is not a herb that is typically found in modern cuisine. Due to small amounts of toxins it contains, it must be used in small amounts, and should be avoided by pregnant women or women who have liver issues.

It has a variety of other culinary uses:

  • It was used extensively in ancient Near Eastern and Roman cuisine (according to Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq and Apicius).
  • Rue is used as a traditional flavouring in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.[1]
  • In Istria (a region spanning Croatia and Slovenia), and in Northern Italy, it is used to give a special flavour to grappa/raki and most of the time a little branch of the plant can be found in the bottle. This is called grappa alla ruta.
  • Seeds can be used for porridge.
  • The bitter leaf can be added to eggs, cheese, fish, or mixed with damson plums and wine to produce a meat sauce.
  • In Italy in
    Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the young branches of the plant are dipped in a batter, deep-fried in oil, and consumed with salt or sugar. They are also used on their own to aromatise a specific type of omelette.[8]
  • Used in
  • The rue that is widespread in Ethiopian culture is a different species, R. chalapensis.[10]

Other

Rue is also grown as an ornamental plant, both as a low hedge and so the leaves can be used in nosegays.

Most cats dislike the smell of it, and it can, therefore, be used as a deterrent to them (see also

Plectranthus caninus).[citation needed
]

Caterpillars of some subspecies of the butterfly Papilio machaon feed on rue, as well as other plants. The caterpillars of Papilio xuthus also feed readily on it.[11]

Hasidic Jews also were taught that rue should be placed into amulets to protect them from epidemics and plagues.

Hasidim rely on the works of a famous Baghdadi Kabbalist Yaakov Chaim Sofer who makes mention of the plant "ruda" (רודה) as an effective device against both black magic and the evil eye.[13]

It finds many household uses around the world as well. It is traditionally used in Central Asia as an insect repellent and room deodorizer.[clarification needed]

Toxicity

Rue is generally safe if consumed in small amounts as an herb to flavor food. Rue extracts are

teratogen.[citation needed
]

Exposure to common rue, or herbal preparations derived from it, can cause severe phytophotodermatitis, which results in burn-like blisters on the skin.[14][15][16][17] The mechanism of action is currently unknown.[18]

Effect of the common rue on skin in sunny weather

Chemistry

R. graveolens essential oil in a clear glass vial

A series of furanoacridones and two acridone alkaloids (arborinine and evoxanthine) have been isolated from R. graveolens.[19] It also contains coumarins and limonoids.[20]

Cell cultures produce the coumarins

The ethyl acetate extract of R. graveolens leaves yields two furanocoumarins, one quinoline alkaloid and four quinolone alkaloids including graveoline.[22][23]

The chloroform extracts of the root, stem and leaf shows the isolation of the furanocoumarin chalepensin.[24]

The essential oil of R. graveolens contains two main constituents,

undecan-2-one (46.8%) and nonan-2-one (18.8%).[25]

Symbolism

The bitter taste of its leaves led to rue being associated with the (etymologically unrelated) verb

Weasels
who were bitten by the basilisk would retreat and eat rue in order to recover and return to fight.

In the Bible

Rue is mentioned in the Bible, Luke 11:42:

"But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs".

In Lithuania

Rue is considered a

national herb of Lithuania and it is the most frequently referenced herb in Lithuanian folk songs, as an attribute of young girls, associated with virginity and maidenhood. It was common in traditional Lithuanian weddings for only virgins to wear a rue (Lithuanian
: rūta) at their wedding, a symbol to show their purity.

In Ukraine

Likewise, rue is prominent in Ukrainian folklore, songs and culture. In the Ukrainian folk song "Oi poli ruta, ruta" (O, rue, rue in the field), the girl regrets losing her virginity, reproaching the lover for "breaking the green hazel tree".[27] "Chervona Ruta" (Червона Рута—"Red Rue") is a song, written by Volodymyr Ivasyuk, a popular Ukrainian poet and composer. Pop singer Sofia Rotaru performed the song in 1971.

In Jewish culture

"Una Matica de Ruda" is a traditional

Sephardic
wedding song.

In English literature

It is one of the flowers distributed by the mad

(IV.5):

"There's fennel for you, and columbines:
there's rue for you; and here's some for me:
we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays:
O you must wear your rue with a
difference
..."

It was planted by the gardener in Richard II to mark the spot where the Queen wept upon hearing news of Richard's capture (III.4.104–105):

"Here did she fall a tear, here in this place
I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace."

It is also given by the rusticated Perdita to her disguised royal father-in-law on the occasion of a sheep-shearing (

Winter's Tale
, IV.4):

"For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep
Seeming and savour all the winter long."

It is used by Michael in Milton's Paradise Lost to give Adam clear sight (11.414):

"Then purg'd with euphrasy and rue
The visual nerve, for he had much to see."

Rue is used by Gulliver in

Houyhnhnms
". Gulliver can no longer stand the smell of the English Yahoos (people), so he stuffs rue or tobacco in his nose to block out the smell.

"I was at last bold enough to walk the street in his (Don Pedro's) company, but kept my nose well with rue, or sometimes with tobacco".

See also

References

  1. ^ a b J. D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 1150, at Google Books
  2. ^ a b "Ruta graveolens". Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  3. ^ Pliny the Elder. Natural History Book. p. Book 24, 90.
  4. ^ Pedanius Dioscorides. De Materia Medica. p. Book V, 42.
  5. ^ a b c "Rue". drugs.com.
  6. ^ Natural History Book XX Ch LI[full citation needed]
  7. PMID 20853553
    .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. ^ "Ruta graveolens". Kew Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 21 June 2023.; "Ruta chalepensis". Kew Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 21 June 2023., compare distribution maps.
  11. .
  12. ^ This was taught by Rabbi Isaac of Komarno in his comments to Sefer Adam Yashar in the name of Rabbi Isaac Luria
  13. ^ https://www.sefaria.org/Kaf_HaChayim_on_Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.301.135?lang=bi[full citation needed]
  14. PMID 19671699
    .
  15. .
  16. .
  17. .
  18. ^ Naghibi Harat, Z.; Kamalinejad, M.; Sadeghi, M. R.; Sadeghipour, H. R.; Eshraghian, M. R. (2009-05-10). "A Review on Ruta graveolens L. Its Usage in Traditional Medicine and Modern Research Data". Journal of Medicinal Plants. 8 (30): 1–19.
  19. ^ Srivastava, S. D.; Srivastava, S. K.; Halwe, K. (1998). "New coumarins and limonoids of Ruta graveolens". Fitoterapia. 69 (1): 7–12. INIST 2179664
  20. .
  21. .
  22. .
  23. .
  24. ^ Walsh, William Shepard; Garrison, William H.; Harris, Samuel R. (5 January 1888). "American Notes and Queries". Westminster Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  25. ^ Ukrainian folk songs. Oi u poli ruta, ruta (O, rue, rue in the field). (Ukrainian)

External links