The plant known as lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is not closely related, as it belongs to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae.
Description
Greater celandine is a perennial herbaceous plant with an erect habit, and reaches 30–120 cm (12–47 in) high. The blue-green[3] leaves are pinnate with lobed and wavy margins, up to 30 cm (12 in) long. When injured, the plant exudes a yellow to orange latex.[3][4]: 96
The flowers consist of four yellow petals, each about 18 mm (0.71 in) long, with two sepals. A double-flowered variety occurs naturally. The flowers appear from late spring to summer, May to September (in the UK),[3] in umbelliformcymes of about four flowers.
The seeds are small and black, borne in a long, cylindrical capsule. Each has an elaiosome, which attracts ants to disperse the seeds (myrmecochory).[3]
Taxonomy and naming
Chelidonium majus is one of the many species described by the father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, in volume one of his Species Plantarum in 1753.[5]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name celandine comes from Late Latincelidonia, from earlier Latin chelidonia or chelidonium, and ultimately from Ancient Greekχελιδόνιον, from χελιδών (chelidṓn) 'swallow', hence the common name swallowwort. Ancient writers said that the flower bloomed when the swallows returned and faded when they left.[6][7]Chelidonium majus has also been called great celandine,[8]nipplewort,[8]tetterwort,[9] or simply celandine.[8] The common name tetterwort also refers to Sanguinaria canadensis.[10]
It is considered an aggressive invasive plant in parts of North America, and an invasive plant in other areas. In Wisconsin, for example, it is a restricted plant.[12][13] Control is obtained mainly via pulling or spraying the plant before seed dispersal.
The characteristic latex also contains proteolytic enzymes and the phytocystatinchelidostatin, a cysteine protease inhibitor.[20] It is a traditional folk remedy against warts in France[21] and the UK. It is used in the preparation of a range of off-the-shelf treatments for warts and skin conditions.[22]
Chelidonium is used to make Ukrain, a drug that has been promoted for, but is not known to be effective for, the treatment of cancer and viral infections.[23][24]
The fresh herb is no longer used officially. No dose-finding studies exist and the reported clinical studies are characterised by a considerable heterogeneity.[25]
Except for homeopathic medicines, the drug is no longer used in most English-speaking countries. In Germany and Switzerland, extracts of Chelidoni herba are a controversial component of the gastric remedy "Iberogast". The OTC-preparation is a top-selling product for the company Bayer, which is now under investigation for not warning consumers from possible hepatotoxic side-effects when taking the drug. Elevated liver-enzymes and toxic hepatitis with a documented fatality have been reported.[26][27]
The aerial parts and roots of greater celandine are used in herbalism. The above-ground parts are gathered during the flowering season and dried at high temperatures. The root is harvested in autumn between August and October and dried. The fresh rhizome is also used. Celandine has a hot and bitter taste. Preparations are made from alcoholic and hot aqueous extractions. The related plant bloodroot has similar chemical composition and uses as greater celandine.
As far back as Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides (1st century CE) this herb has been recognized as a useful detoxifying agent. The root has been chewed to relieve toothache.[29]John Gerard's Herball (1597) states that "the juice of the herbe is good to sharpen the sight, for it cleanseth and consumeth away slimie things that cleave about the ball of the eye and hinder the sight and especially being boiled with honey in a brasen vessell."[30]
It was formerly used by some Romani people as a foot refresher; modern herbalists use its purgative properties.[31]
The modern herbalistJuliette de Baïracli Levy recommended greater celandine diluted with milk for the eyes and the latex for getting rid of warts.[32]Chelidonium was a favourite herb of the French herbalist Maurice Mességué.
Chelidonium majus has traditionally been used for treatment of various inflammatory diseases including atopic dermatitis.[33] It is also traditionally used in the treatment of gallstones and dyspepsia.[34]
^Stace, C. A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics. ISBN978-1-5272-2630-2.
^Linnaeus C (1753). "Tomus I". Species Plantarum (in Latin). Vol. 1. Stockholm: Laurentii Salvii. p. 505.
^"Swallow". Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1989.
^Hanzlik, P.J. (1920). "The pharmacology of chelidonin, a neglected alkaloid of chelidonium, or tetterwort". Journal of the American Medical Association. 75 (20): 1324–1325. doi:10.1001/jama.1920.02620460022007.
^Predny, M.L.; Chamberlain, J.L.; United States. National Park Service (2005). Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis): An Annotated Bibliography. General technical report SRS. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
^Cahlikova L., Opletal L., Kurfurst M., Macakova K., Kulhankova A., Host'alkova A.,"Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory compounds from Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae)." Natural Product Communications. 5 (11) (pp 1751–1754), 2010. Date of Publication: 2010.
^Li X.-L., Yao J.-Y., Zhou Z.-M., Shen J.-Y., Ru H.-S., Liu X.-L.,"Activity of the chelerythrine, a quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid from Chelidonium majus L. on Dactylogyrus intermedius." Parasitology Research. 109 (1) (pp 247-252), July 2011
^Park J.E., Cuong T.D., Hung T.M., Lee I., Na M., Kim J.C., Ryoo S., Lee J.H., Choi J.S., Woo M.H., Min B.S.,"Alkaloids from Chelidonium majus and their inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 21 (23) (pp 6960-6963), 2011. Date of Publication: 01 Dec 2011.
^ abNiering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 671. ISBN0-394-50432-1.
^Grieve, Maud (1971). A Modern Herbal: The Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses, Volume 1.
^Howard, Michael (1987-05-21). Traditional Folk Remedies. Century Paperbacks. Ebury Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN978-0-7126-1731-4.
