PDR for Herbal Medicines

HERBAL MONOGRAPHS PLANTAIN /597

Other Names: Eve's Cups, Fly-Catcher, Fly-Trap, Hunts-

man's Cup, Purple Side-Saddle Flower, Side-Saddle Plant,

Water-Cup, Smallpox Plant

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

• COMPOUNDS
  Piperidine alkaloids: coniine, gamma-conicein (particularly
  in the trapping fluid of the pitcher leaves)

EFFECTS

The drug has stomachic, diuretic, and laxative effects due to

its active agents, which include sarracenia acid, tannin, resin,

and the alkaloid sarracenin, which is similar to veratrin.

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Unproven Uses: Pitcher Plant was formerly used for

digestive disorders, particularly constipation, also for urinary

tract diseases, and as a cure for smallpox. Indigenous North

American Indians believe the drug not only saved lives of

smallpox victims, but they also administered it to prevent

scar formation.

PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS

No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction

with the proper administration of designated therapeutic

dosages.

DOSAGE

Mode of Administration: Both the root and leaf preparations

are considered completely obsolete.

LITERATURE

Foder GB, Colasenko B, In: Alkaloids, Vol. 3, Ed. SW

Pelletier, Pub. John Wiley 1985.

Kern W, List PH, Horhammer L (Hrsg.), Hagers Handbuch der

Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 4. Aufl., Bde. 1-8: Springer Verlag

Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1969.

Teuscher E, Lindequist U, Biogene Gifte - Biologie, Chemie,

Pharmakologie. 2. Aufl., Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1994.

Plantago afra

See Psyllium Seed

Plantago lanceolata

See English Plantain

Plantago ovata

See Psyllium

Plantain

Musa paradisiaca

DESCRIPTION

Medicinal Parts: The medicinal part of the plant is the fruit.

Flower and Fruit: The inflorescence, growing through the

false trunk and curving downward, bears groups of male

flowers in the axils of the bracts at the tip, groups of

androgynous flowers beneath and finally female flowers.

The flowers are zygomorphic with 5 fused and 1 free tepal.

There are 5 stamens and a superior ovary. The fruit is a

berry. The 10 to 16 single fruits that develop from the

flowers of a bract are called a hand.

Leaves, Stem and Root: The herbaceous perennial grows up

to 6 m high. The leaves are very large, entire and simple.

They are often pinnatifid and grow from an underground

rhizome. The leaf sheaths form a hollow false trunk. There

are adventitious roots.

Characteristics: A seedless berry fruit develops from the

female flowers without pollination.

Habitat: The plant grows in tropical areas.

Production: Plantain banana pulp is the unripened pulp of

Musa paradisiaca. Plantains are harvested when still green

and ripened in special rooms for 3 to 10 days.

Other Names: Banana, Banana Tree

ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY

COMPOUNDS

Polysaccharides: starch (20% of fresh weight)

Protein (1% of fresh weight)

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C): 10 to 20 mg/100 g fresh weight

Amines: serotonin (28 g/g fresh weight), tyramine (7 g/o

fresh weight), dopamine (8 g/g fresh weight), noradrenaline

(2 g/g fresh weight)

Fruit acids: including malic and citric acid

Aromatic substances: 180 components, including isopente-

nyl acetate (chief aroma-bearer)

EFFECTS

The starchy fruit has antiu\cerogenic and cholesterol-reduc-

ing effects, and is a source of potassium. In East Africa and

elsewhere, Plantain is used to prepare a narcotic drink.

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Unproven Uses: The drug is used for dyspepsia, gastrointes-

tinal complaints, diabetes, scurvy, diarrhea, hypertension and

gout. The roots of the tree have been used as an anthelmintic