Wolff) does not contain the carcinogenic
b-asarone.^6 The essential oil of the eastern
European variety (A. calamusvar.vulgaris)
contains 13%b-asarone while the essential
oil of an Indian chemotype (var.augustata
Engler) contains up to 80% or more (WICHTL).
Other constituents present in the rhizome
include acoragermacrone, acolamone, and iso-
acolamone (all sesquiterpenes),7–10acoradin,
2,4,5-trimethoxy benzaldehyde, 2,5-dimetho-
xybenzoquinone, galangin, sitosterol,^11 acoric
acid, tannin, resin, and others (WICHTL).^12
PHARMACOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL
ACTIVITIES
The oil and extracts have shown numerous
pharmacological activities, including spasmo-
lytic activities on isolated animal organs
(smoothmuscle),hypotensiveactivitiesincats
and rabbits, anticonvulsant and CNS-depres-
sant activities (FARNSWORTH3;JIANGSU),13–16
hypolipidemic activity in rats,^17 in vitroimmu-
nosuppressive activities,^18 antineurotoxic
activity,^19 in vitroantimicrobial activity,^20 and
others.^21
TOXICOLOGY
Calamus oil is toxic and the Jammu (Indian)
variety has been reported to be carcinogenic in
rats.16,22,23
b-Asarone has shown antigonadal activity
in insects.^24 It is also mutagenic in the
Ames test, as are commercial samples of the
drug containing various concentrations of
b-asarone.^25
Indian calamus root oil repels houseflies.^26
USESMedicinal, Pharmaceutical, and Cosmetic.
Oil used as a fragrance component in soaps,
detergents, creams, lotions, and perfumes.
Maximum use level reported is 0.4% in per-
fumes.^16 The root extract has been used in hair
tonic and antidandruff preparations.Traditional Medicine. Used for more than
2000 years in China to treat numerous dis-
orders, includingrheumatoid arthritis, strokes,
epilepsy, gastritis, and lack of appetite; also
externally in skin diseases (JIANGSU); used in
India in treatments of debility, mental disor-
ders including depression, convulsions,
cough, inflammation, tumors, skin diseases,
and other conditions;^17 used in Tibetan medi-
cine in treating diptheria, indigestion, and
sudden coma related to heart disease (WICHTL);
used in Western cultures for centuries as sto-
machic, carminative, sedative, febrifuge, and
others.^27 When chewed it is said to kill the
taste for tobacco and to clear phlegm from
the throat; the roots ofA. calamusL. var.
americanuswere used by the Indians of east-
ern Canada to treat symptoms of diabetes^28
and menopause; also used by many Indian
tribes in Canada and the United States as a
remedy for colds (MOERMAN).COMMERCIAL PREPARATIONOil; crude formerly official in U.S.P. and N.F.Regulatory Status. Calamus and its deriva-
tives (oil, extracts, etc.) are prohibited from
use in human food (§189.110). The North
American variety is also prohibited, despite
containing none or negligible amounts of
b-asarone (WICHTL).REFERENCES
See the General References forARCTANDER;BAILEY2;BARNES;BISSET;CLAUS;DER MARDEROSIAN AND
BEUTLER;FARNSWORTH3;FOGARTY;FOSTER;GRIEVE;GUENTHER;GUPTA;JIANGSU;KROCHMAL AND KROCHMAL;
LUST;MARTINDALE;MCGUFFIN1&2;MERCK;MORTON1;NANJING;ROSE;UPHOF;WICHTL.
128 Calamus