-IBIS-1.7.0-
rx
herb
Chelidonium majus (Celandine)
Botanicals

definition

botanical name(s): Chelidonium majus

synonyms: celandine, greater chelidonium, great celandine, garden celandine, tetterwort, greater celandine, schollkraut, chelidoine

part(s) used: root and/or aerial part

qualities:

affinities:

actions: antispasmodic, cholagogue, anodyne, purgative, diuretic, hepatic

dosage:

» tea: 2 tsp. herb or 1 tsp. root to 1 cup water; drink 1-3 cups per day

» tincture: 1 - 3 ml.; fresh extract only, 6 mo. shelf life (Weiss)

appearance:

» tongue swollen, moist, scalloped, with thick coat; yellow, possibly all the way to the tip (Wood)

therapy:

» internal: specific for gallbladder disorders, hepatitis, jaundice

» external: warts

AHPA Botanical Safety Rating: 2b, 2d (not to be used by children) (McGuffin)

toxicity: 3

» contraindicated in pregnancy due to its uterine stimulant activity and content of alkaloids (chelidonine, sparteine, protopine, chelerythrine and berberine) that act as uterine stimulants in animal uteri (Brinker, p. 24, Farnsworth)

» Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids found in Chelidonium act as potential mitotic inhibitors and have been demonstrated to successfully cause and treat a variety of cancers. These studies also raise questions concerning teratogenicity.

» Ingestion may cause unpleasant taste and smell, headaches, halitosis, oropharyngeal and gastric effects such as burning, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Moderate to severe cases of intoxication exhibit signs of adrenergic blockade: bradycardia, somnolence, muscle spasms, paralysis, circulatory collapse, coma; pulmonary congestion has been reported (AMA, p. 55; Muenscher, p. 99; Woodward, p. 68)

» Chelidonium has questionable narcotic effects (Phillips, p. 83; von Oettingen, p. 77)

» laboratory test results: hematuria following an intake of fresh latex, and in most other cases, albuminuria (von Oettingen, p. 77)

» externally, the latex is a skin irritant and causes blistering (AMA, p. 55; Muenscher, p. 8; Woodward, p. 68; von Oettingen, p. 288)

constituents: benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, essential oil, saponins

footnotes

Brinker F. 1996. The Toxicology of Botanical Medicines, rev. 2nd ed., Sandy, Oregon: Eclectic Medical Publications.

Farnsworth NR, Bingel AS, Cordell GA, Crane FA, Fong HHS. 1975. Potential Value of Plants as Sources of New Antifertility Agents I. J. Pharm. Sci., 64:535-98.

McGuffin, Michael, ed. 1997. American Herbal Products Association’s Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: The CRC Press.

Muenscher, W.C. 1951. Poisonous Plants of the United States. New York: The MacMillan Company.

Phillips, C.D. 1879. Materia Medica and Therapeutics: Vegetable Kingdom. New York: William Wood and Company.

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

Weiss, R.F. 1988. Herbal Medicine. Gothenburg, Sweden: Ab Arcanum; Beaconsfield, England: Beaconsfield Publishers, Ltd.

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

Woodward, L. 1985. Poisonous Plants: A Color Field Guide. New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc.