HERBAL MONOGRAPHS LACTUCARIUM / 453ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Quinolizidine alkaloids (1-3%): main alkaloids (-)-cytisine
(95%), as well as (-)-N-methylcytisine, epibaptifolineLectinsEFFECTS
No information is available.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Unproven Uses: Experiments in the use of cytisine as a
pesticide (lice) have shown that in the necessary concentra-
tion the danger of poisoning is too high.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
There are no indications for this drug. The drug is severely
toxic. See Overdosage section.
OVERDOSAGE
Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, dizziness, salivation,
pains in the mouth, in the throat and in the stomach area,
outbreaks of sweat, headache as well as extended, severe,
and sometimes bloody vomiting. If no vomiting occurs,
excitatory states can come about from the centrally stimulat-
ing effect of the drug, with tonic-clonic spasms that later
change over into paralyses. Anuria and uremia have also
been observed. Death comes through asphyxiation.Fifteen to 20 seeds or 3 to 4 unripe berries are considered
fatal for an adult. While poisonings occur relatively frequent-
ly, cases of death have not been recorded in recent times. If
no vomiting has occurred, poisonings are treated with gastric
lavage, then through the administration of activated charcoal;
spasms are to be treated with chlorpromazine or diazepam.
In cases of asphyxiation, intubation and oxygen respiration
are to be carried out.
LITERATURE
Frohne D. Pfander HJ, Giftpflanzen - Ein Handbuch fiir
Apotheker, Toxikologen und Biologen, 4. AufL Wiss.
Verlagsges. mbH Stuttgart 1997.
Greinwald R, Untersuchungen zur chemotaxonomischen
Bedeutung von Leguminosenalkaloiden und zum
Alkaloidstoffwechsel in transformierten Geweben und
Zellkulturen. In: Dissertation Universitat Wurzburg. 1988.
Gresser G, Der Besenginster - Cytisus scoparius (L.) LINK. In:
ZPT 17(5):320-330. 1996.
Hansel R, Keller K, Rimpler H, Schneider G (Hrsg.), Hagers
Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 5. Aufl., Bde 4-6
(Drogen), Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1992-
1994.Lewin L, Gifte und Vergiftungen, 6. Aufl., Nachdruck, Haug
Verlag, Heidelberg 1992.
Madaus G, Lehrbuch der Biologischen Arzneimittel, Bde 1-3,
Nachdruck, Georg Olms Verlag Hildesheim 1979.
Roth L, Daunderer M, Kormann K, Giftpflanzen, Pflanzengifte,- Aufl., Ecomed Fachverlag Landsberg Lech 1993.
Seeger R, Neumann HG, Cytisin. In: DAZ 132(7):303. 1992.
Teuscher E, Lindequist U, Biogene Gifte - Biologie, Chemie,
Pharmakologie, 2. Aufl., Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1994.
Teuscher E, Biogene Arzneimittel. 5. Aufl., Wiss. Verlagsges.
mbH Stuttgart 1997.
Tschirch C, Kraus L, Goldregen-Alkaloid Cytisin. In: DAZ
132(47):2560. 1992.
Wagner H, Wiesenauer M, Phytotherapie. Phytopharmaka und
pflanzliche Homoopathika, Fischer-Verlag, Stuttgart, Jena, New
York 1995.
Lactuca virosa
See Lactucarium
Lactucarium
Lactuca virosa
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the dried latex and
the leaves.Flower and Fruit: The composite flowers are in pyramid-
shaped panicles. The capitula have a few florets. They are
androgynous, pale yellow, lingual florets. The bracts are
imbricate. The fruit is 4-lipped and black with a broad edge.
It is glabrous at the tip. It has a whitish beak that is as long as
the fruit, making the hair tuft look stemmed.Leaves, Stem and Root: The plant is biennial, up to 1.2 m
high, with a fusiform, pale root that produces the erect,
branched and hollow stem. It is smooth, light green and
sometimes has purple spots. The leaves are oblong to
obovate, narrowed at the base, clasping and usually simple.
They are thorny-tipped, lie horizontally and are thorny on the
underside of the midrib.Characteristics: The whole plant contains milky latex.Habitat: The plant is indigenous to western and southern
Europe and is cultivated in Germany, Austria, France and
Scotland.
Production: Lactucarium leaves are the leaves of the aerial
part of Lactuca virosa. They are gathered when in flower and
then dried.
Not to be Confused With: L.sativa, L.serriola, L.quercina and
Sonchus oleraceus.