526 /MOUNTAIN ASH BERRYDOSAGE
Mode of Administration: Mountain Ash is available as whole
and crude drug forms.
Daily Dosage: A puree is used for diarrhea. Freshly pressed
juic$ (or juice with sugar) is taken by the dessertspoonful for
conditions of the lungs and pleura with fever.
LITERATURE
Fikenscher LH et al., PM 41:313. 1981.
Letzig E et al., Nahrung 7:591. 1963.
Sicher O, Salama O, PM 39:269. 1980.
Further information in:
Frohne D, Pfander HJ, Giftpflanzen - Ein Handbuch fur
Apotheker, Toxikologen und Biologen, 4. Aufl., Wiss. Verlags-
Ges. Stuttgart 1997.
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.
Teuscher E, Lindequist U, Biogene Gifte - Biologie, Chemie,
Pharmakologie, 2. Aufl., Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1994.
Mountain Avens
Dryas,J@etQpetala. ..**-" >f" ~ -.... .. --
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: Mountain Avens or Silverweed Herb is the
whole dried plant of Dryas octopetala.
Flower and Fruit: The flower stalk is upright, 2 to 8 cm
long. The diameter of the flowers is 2 to 4 cm; there are 6 to
9 sepals, which are glabrous on the inside and brown, felt-
like and glandular on the outside. There are 6 to 9 white
petals and numerous stamens. The carpels are numerous, free
and densely haired, with apical styles twisted like screws.
The fruit is like a nut.Leaves, Stem and Root: This evergreen dwarf shrub grows
up to 0.5 m high. The leaves are 0.5 to 4 cm long, up to 2.5
cm wide, coriaceous, crenate, short-petiolate; the lamina is
spatulate, obovate or elongate-elliptical, with a cordate base,
wrinkled and glabrous above, tomentose beneath; the stip-
ules are dry-membranous and sharply acuminate. The small
stem is heavily branched, the leaves on the horizontal
branches are double-rowed, the upright stem has leaves all
around. The plant has a primary taproot.
Habitat: The shrub grows in the Arctic, subarctic and high
mountainous regions.
Production: The plant is collected in the wild, cut and
powdered.
Other Names: Silverweed Herb
ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY
COMPOUNDS
Tannins (2.5 to 5.5% in the root; 7.5 to 14% in the leaves)
Catechin tannins (7 to 14%)
Flavonoids (0.7 to 1.6%): glycosides of quercetin, kaempfer-
ol, isorhamnetin, limocitrin, gossypetin, corniculatusin and
sexangularetin
Triierpenes: including tormentoside
EFFECTS
Due to its tannin and flavonoid glycoside content, the drug is
astringent in effect.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Unproven Uses: Folk medicine uses include stomach pains
and diarrhea.
The effect appears to be plausible because of the flavonoid
glycoside content, but is Unproven.
PRECAUTIONS AND ADVERSE REACTIONS
No health hazards are known in conjunction with the proper
administration of designated therapeutic dosages. The inges-
tion of larger dosages can lead to digestive complaints and
constipation, due to the high tannin content. Available data
are insufficient to classify the drug's safety.
LITERATURE
Hansel R, Keller K, Rimpler H, Schneider G (Ed.), Hagers
Handbuch der Pharmazeutischen Praxis, 5. Aufl., Bde 4-6
(Drogen), Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 1992-
1994.
Schulthess H, Dissertation Zurich; 1945.Mountain Flax
Linum catharticum
DESCRIPTION
Medicinal Parts: The medicinal parts are the herb, the fresh
flowering plant and the whole plant.
Flower and Fruit: The flowers are on loose, panicled,
branched, sparsely leafed twining stems on long peduncles in
the leaf axils. They hang before flowering. The sepals are