-IBIS-1.7.0-
rx
herb
Phytolacca spp. (Poke, Pokeweed)
Botanicals

definition

botanical name(s): Phytolacca decandra, Phytolacca americana

synonyms: poke, pokeweed, poke root

part(s) used: fresh root, berries

qualities: pungent, sweet, neutral, dry

affinities: skin; glandular structures of the buccal cavity, throat, and sexual system; mammary glands; fibrous and serous tissues and mucous membranes of the digestive and urinary tracts; heart; spinal cord; bowels (Felter and Lloyd, p. 1473)

actions: alterative, antirheumatic, anticatarrhal, cathartic, emetic, fungicide, narcotic, parasiticide

dosage:

» tincture of fresh root: 0.2 - 1 ml.

» tincture of berries: 0.2 - 1 ml.

» dry powder: 60 - 300 mg.

appearance:

» tongue hurts upon protrusion (Wood)

pulse:

» dull stroke with tremulous or vibratile wave (Scudder, 1903, p. 154)

specific indications: pallid mucous tissues with ulceration; sore mouth with small blisters on tongue and mucous membranes of cheeks; sore lips; hard, painful, enlarged glands; mastitis; orchitis; parotitis; aphthae; soreness of mammary glands, with impaired respiration; faucial, tonsillar, or pharyngeal ulceration; pallid, sore throat, with cough or respiratory difficulty (Felter and Lloyd, p. 1475)

therapy:

» internal: acute inflammations of the throat; adenitis; acute inflammations of the breast; children's glandular and skin disorders; sciatic rheumatism; syphilitic disorders with ulceration; long-standing ulcers in psoriasis, dermal abscesses, fissures, boils, and carbuncles (Ellingwood, p. 375); chronic rheumatism; chronic respiratory catarrh; tonsillitis; laryngitis; mastitis (British Herbal Pharmacopoeia p. 157)

» external: as ointment in scabies, tinea, sycosis, acne; as poultice in abscess, mastitis (British Herbal Pharmacopoeia p. 157)

AHPA Botanical Safety Rating: 3

toxicity: 4

» contraindicated in pregnancy, mitogen and teratogen; should also be avoided in dermal, ocular, and peri-ocular preparations (AMA, p. 6; Duke, pp. 367-368; Keeler and Tu, p. 810)

» eye and skin irritant; may induce sneezing (Duke, pp. 367-368)

» within two hours of ingesting the roots, gastric irritation and burning occur, indicated by a bitter taste, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and extensive, often bloody diarrhea; accompanied by abdominal pain, dyspnea, vertigo, dysphagia, weakness, arthralgia, myalgia, stiffness, possible blurred vision and amblyopia; in severe cases a decreased and irregular pulse, palpitations, and convulsions may occur; if death does not ensue, recovery occurs in two days (Brundage, pp. 195-197; Cain, p. 541; Levy and Primack, pp. 104-106)

» laboratory test results: agglutination of red and white blood cells is promoted by pokeweed mitogen (Tedeschi, Eckart and Tedeschi, p. 1524); pokeweed mitogen has been found to stimulate both B and T lymphocytes (Kinghorn, p. 84-90; Von Oettingen, p. 500)

constituents:

» root: triterpenoid saponins, phytolaccosides, lectins, pokeweed mitogen

» seeds: polyphenols

footnotes

British Herbal Medical Association. 1983. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. West Yorks, England: The British Herbal Medical Association.

Brundage, A.H. 1929. A Manual of Toxicology, 15th ed. New York: D. Appleton and Co.

Cain, H.D. 1980. Flint's Emergency Treatment and Management, 6th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.

Duke, J.A. 1985. C.R.C. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Boca Raton, FL: The C.R.C. Press.

Ellingwood, F. 1898. American Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Pharmacognosy. Portland, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications.

Felter, H. W., and Lloyd, J. U. 1983. King's American Dispensatory, Vols. I and II. Portland, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications.

Keeler, R.F., and Tu, A.T. 1983. Handbook of Natural Toxins. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.

Kinghorn, A.D. Editor. 1979. Toxic Plants. New York: Columbia University Press.

Lampe, K.F., and McAnn, M.A. 1985. AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants. Chicago: American Medical Association.

Levy, C.K.; and Primack, R.B. 1984. A Field Guide to Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America. The Stephen Green Press.

Scudder, J.M. 1985. Specific Medication. Portland, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications.

Tedeschi, G.E., et al. 1977. Forensic Medicine: A Study in Trauma and Environmental hazards. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.

von Oettingen, W.F. 1958. Poisoning: A Guide to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders and Company.

Wood, Matthew. 1992. The Admirable Secrets of Herbs, Roots and Barks: Western Herbal Medicine, A Materia Medica. Unpublished manuscript.