PDR for Herbal Medicines

356/GOLDENSEAL

oblong carmine berries with 1 or 2 hard, black and glossy

seeds. The fruit is similar to the raspberry but is not edible.

Leaves, Stem and Root: The plant is a low herbaceous

perennial about 30 cm high. It has a horizontal bright yellow,

knotty and twisted rhizome about 0.6 to 1.8 cm thick out of

which the root fibers grow. It is folded longitudinally and

encircled by old leaf scars. The fracture is short and shows a

dark, yellow cut surface, thick bark, large pith and broad

medullary rays. The flowering stem appears in spring and is

erect, cylindrical, downward pubescent, 15 to 30 cm tall and

has a few short brown scales at the base. It bears 2 clearly

ribbed, dark green and pubescent, cauline leaves. The lower

one is sessile the upper one petiolate, round and divided into

7 lobes and finely serrate. There is also a root leaf on a long

petiole, which is similar to the cauline leaves but larger.

Characteristics: The taste is very bitter, the smell is strong,

characteristic and disagreeable.

Habitat: Indigenous to the U.S., cultivated elsewhere.

Production: Goldenseal root is the rhizome of Hydrastis

canadensis. The root is dug up in the autumn and dried.

Not to be Confused With: Goldenseal is often adulterated

with Bloodroot.

Other Names: Orange Root, Yellow Root, Yellow Puccoon,

Ground Raspberry, Wild Curcuma, Turmeric Root, Indian

Dye, Eye Root, Eye Balm, Indian Paint, Jaundice Root,

Warnera, Indian Plant

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

COMPOUNDS

Isoquinoline alkaloids: chief alkaloids hydrastine (1.5 to

4%), berberine (0.5 to 6%), (-)-canadine (0.5%)

Starch

EFFECTS

Many of the studies that have been conducted focus on the

berberine and hydrastine componants that are found not only

in Goldenseal, but also in numerous other herbs commonly

used in Chinese and Indian medicine. The effects reported

here focus on these componants and not necessarily the

Goldenseal in it's raw form.

Berberine sulfate has been shown to inhibit the growth of
Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Trichomonas
vaginalis, in vitro. The parasites all exhibited morphological
changes after exposure to berberine sulfate (Kaneda, 1991).
In one experiment by Swab et al (1981), berberine hydro-
chloride reduced the cholera toxin-induced secretion of
water, sodium and chloride in perfused rat ileum. Berberine
was also found to inhibit the intestinal secretory response of
Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli enterotoxins without
causing histological damage to the intestinal mucosa (Sack,

PDR FOR HERBAL MEDICINES

1982). Berberine is also active against other intestinal

infections that cause aute diarrhea such as Shigella dysenteri-

ae, Salmonella paratyphi and various Klebsiella species.

Berberine sulfate has been shown to block the adherence of

Streptococcus pyrogenes and E. coli to host cells, possibly

explaining it's mechanism of action against numerous

pathogens (Sun, 1988).

Berberine was found to be the active constituent in an extract

of Hydrastis canadensis root that demonstrated activity

against a multiple drug-resistant strain of Mycobacterium

tuberculosis (Gentry, 1998). Berberine also inhibits Helico-

bacter pylori (Bae, 1998).

Berberine has a long history of use for eye infections. In one

study that looked at effectiveness in treating trachoma,

berberine was more effective than sulfacetamide in eradicat-

ing Chlamydia trachomatis from the eye and preventing

relapse of symptoms (Babbar, 1982; Mohan, 1982).

Berberine has a choleretic (bile-stimlating) effect and has

been shown to lower bilirubin levels (Chan, 1977).

Berberine inhibited the effects of tumor promotors on the

skin using a mouse model (Nishino, 1986). There is evidence

that berberine also has a direct tumor killing effect and has

the ability to stimulate production of white blood cells

(Zhang, 1990; Liu, 1991).

Berberine has hypotensive, antisecretory and sedative ef-

fects. The mechanism for these effects may be explained by

the fact that berberine has platelet alpha 2 adrenoceptor

agonist activity that is similar to that of clonidine (Hui,

1984).

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Goldenseal is contraindicated in pregnancy.

Goldenseal is contraindicated in people with glucose-6-

phosphate-dehydrogenase deficiency (Chan, 1993).

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Unproven Uses: Goldenseal is used as an antiseptic external-

ly on wounds and herpes labialis. It is also used for gastritis

and as an astringent. The berberine componant is used to

treat acute diarrhea caused by numerous gastrointestinal

pathogens. Berberine is also used as an adjunct treatment in

various cancers and in neutropenia resulting from radiation

and chemotherapy. Berberine has been used to treat tracho-

ma, gastric ulcers and gallbladder disease.

Homeopathic Uses: In homeopathic dilutions, Hydrastis

canadensis is used for the treatment of irregular menstrua-

tion, digestive problems and bronchitis.