Veratrum album
Veratrum album | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Liliales |
Family: | Melanthiaceae |
Genus: | Veratrum |
Species: | V. album
|
Binomial name | |
Veratrum album |
Veratrum album, the false helleborine, white hellebore, European white hellebore, or white veratrum (syn. Veratrum lobelianum Bernh.)[1] is a poisonous plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is native to Europe and parts of western Asia (western Siberia, Turkey, Caucasus).[2]
Description
Veratrum album is a tall
Uses
Extracts from dried rhizomes of Veratrum album were briefly used as a pesticide against the Colorado potato beetle.[4]
Research
In 1890, Georg Salzberger first isolated and named the alkaloid protoveratrine.[5] Later investigation found that protoveratrine is a mixture of two closely related alkaloids, protoveratrine A and protoveratrine B.[6] During the 1940s and 1950s, Veratrum album was studied in essential hypertension, hypertension during renal dysfunction, and pre-eclampsia.[7][8]
Horticultural
Veratrum album is grown as an ornamental plant. In the UK, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[9][10]
Toxicity
In beverages, V. album has been mistaken for the harmless yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) or wild garlic (Allium ursinum), resulting in poisoning.[11][12][13] All parts of the plant are poisonous.[14]
Symptoms
Symptoms of Veratrum alkaloid poisoning typically occur within thirty minutes to four hours of ingestion,[15] and include:[16]
- vomiting
- abdominal pain
- hypotension
- bradycardia
- nausea
- drowsiness
- dizziness
- dilated pupils
Treatment
Treatment for Veratrum alkaloid poisoning include supportive care and symptomatic treatments, such as fluid replacement and anti-emetics. Atropine and vasopressors act to combat bradycardia and hypotension. Duration of illness can last up to ten days but full recovery is possible within a few hours depending on dose and treatment.[15]
Poisonings
Various Veratrum alkaloids were present in a German
In 2005 and 2008, there were three reported cases of accidental poisoning.[12][11] In 2009, eleven children, aged 8 to 12 years old, accidentally ingested Veratrum album at a youth camp where they had prepared homemade tea using fresh herbs. Two children remained asymptomatic, nine developed mild gastrointestinal symptoms, six presented neurological symptoms, and three showed bradycardia; after medical care, all children recovered.[19] Four cases of accidental poisoning were reported in 2010 after Veratrum album was mistaken for wild garlic and used in self prepared-salad and soups.[13] All victims developed nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, sinus bradycardia, and hypotension. Complete recovery took between twenty-four and forty-eight hours.
Alexander the Great
A debate amongst historians is centred around the cause of death of
In vitro mechanism
Veratrum album contains over fifty steroidal alkaloids called 'Veratrum alkaloids', including O-acetyljervine, cevadine, cryptenamine, cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine), cycloposine, germitrine, germidine, jervine, muldamine, protoveratrine (A&B), veratramine, veratridine, and veriloid.[23][24][25] Some of the principal toxins have a modified steroid template while others differ in their esterified acid moieties.[15] In general, Veratrum alkaloids act by increasing the permeability of the sodium channels of nerve cells, causing them to fire continuously. Increased stimulation, associated with the vagus nerve, results in the Bezold-Jarisch reflex: hypotension, bradycardia and apnoea.[15]
The neurotoxicity of Veratrum alkaloids derives from their effect on the sodium ion channels of nerve cells. They activate receptor site 2 of the voltage-dependent Na+ channel in membranes by prolonging its open state.[26] The alkaloids depolarize nerves by enhancing exchange of Na+ and K+ across the membrane.[27]
References
- ^ "Pfaf Plant Search". www.pfaf.org. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- S2CID 53315227.
- S2CID 23173957.
- ISSN 0018-019X.
- S2CID 4178957.
- PMID 14829406.
- PMID 15409589.
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Veratrum album". Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 106. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ PMID 19021933.
- ^ S2CID 38860261.
- ^ S2CID 207657813.
- ISBN 978-0-387-31268-2.
- ^ S2CID 42124743.
- ^ "Veratrum album, white hellebore". The Poison Garden. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ S2CID 44786035.
- PMID 6887310.
- PMID 20170391.
- OCLC 24810739.
- S2CID 20804486.
- ^ "Mystery of Alexander the Great's death solved? Ruler was 'killed by". The Independent. 12 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- PMID 15437315.
- PMID 15422510.
- PMID 13159580.
- ISSN 0021-8561.
- PMID 4555469.
External links
Media related to Veratrum album at Wikimedia Commons