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