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Tussilago

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Coltsfoot
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Senecioneae
Genus: Tussilago
L.
Species:
T. farfara
Binomial name
Tussilago farfara
Synonyms[1]
  • FarfaraGilib.
  • Farfara radiataGilib.
  • Tussilago alpestrisHegetschw.
  • Cineraria farfara(L.) Bernh.
  • Tussilago umbertinaBorbás

Tussilago farfara,commonly known ascoltsfoot,[2]: 770 [3]is a plant in the tribeSenecioneaein the familyAsteraceae,native toEuropeand parts of western and centralAsia.The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latintussis,meaning cough, andago,meaning to cast or to act on.[4][5]It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxicpyrrolizidine alkaloidsin the plant has resulted inliverhealth concerns.

Tussilago farfarais the only accepted species in the genusTussilago,although more than two dozen other species have at one time or another been considered part of this group. Most of them are now regarded as members of other genera (Chaptalia,Chevreulia,Farfugium,Homogyne,Leibnitzia,Petasites,Senecio).[1]

Foliage ofTussilago farfara

Description[edit]

Coltsfoot is aperennialherbaceousplant that spreads byseedsandrhizomes.Tussilagois often found in colonies of dozens of plants. The flowers, which superficially resembledandelions,bearscale-leaveson the long stems in early spring. The leaves of coltsfoot, which appear after the flowers have set seed, wither and die in the early summer. The flower heads are of yellow florets with an outer row of bracts. The plant is typically 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in) in height. The leaves have angular teeth on their margins.[6][7]

Distribution[edit]

Coltsfoot is widespread acrossEurope,Asia,andNorth Africa,fromSvalbardtoMoroccotoChinaand theRussian Far East.It is also a common plant in North and South America where it has been introduced, most likely by settlers as a medicinal item, or to provide early blooms for honeybees. The plant is often found in waste and disturbed places and along roadsides and paths. In some areas it is considered aninvasive species.[1][8][9]

Comparing dandelion with coltsfoot, in early May. The dandelion is just blooming, but the coltsfoot has already gone to seed. Note that the coltsfoot has no leaves yet.

Name[edit]

The common name comes from the leaf's supposed resemblance in shape to a colt's foot.[10]It is a 16th-century translation of the medieval Latin namepes pulli,meaning "foal's foot".[11]Other common names include tash plant, ass's foot, bull's foot, coughwort (Old English),[12]farfara, foal's foot, foalswort, and horse foot. Sometimes it isconfusedwithPetasites frigidus,or western coltsfoot.

It has been calledbechion,[13]bechichie,orbechie,from theAncient Greekword for "cough".[14]Alsoungula caballina( "horse hoof" ),[13]andchamæleuce.[15]

Uses[edit]

Coltsfoot has been used inherbal medicine[13]and has been consumed as a food product with someconfectioneryproducts, such asColtsfoot Rock.Tussilago farfaraleaves have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or syrup) or externally (directly applied) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, viral infections, flu, colds, fever, rheumatism and gout.[16]An extract of the fresh leaves has also been used to make cough drops and hard candy.[10]

Coltsfoot is used as a food plant by thelarvaeof someLepidopteraspecies includingthe Gothicandsmall angle shades.It is also visited by honeybees, providingpollenandnectar.

Fruit of coltsfoot withpappus

Toxicity[edit]

Tussilago farfaracontainstumorigenicpyrrolizidine alkaloids.[17]Senecionineandsenkirkine,present in coltsfoot, have the highestmutagenetic activityof any pyrrolozidine alkaloid, tested usingDrosophila melanogasterto produce a comparativegenotoxicitytest.[18][19]

Two cases of supposed liver damage (and death) due to coltsfoot tea have been shown to actually be the result of mistaken identity. In one, coltsfoot tea causing severe liver problems in an infant was actually the result ofAdenostyles alliariae(alpendost).[20]In another case, an infant developed liver disease and died because the mother drank tea originally believed to contain coltsfoot during her pregnancy, but which was later shown to bePetasites hybridus(butterbur) or a similar species.[21][22]In one 27-year-old male, ingesting a multicomponent herbal supplement that included coltsfoot may have caused him to develop non-lethaldeep vein thrombosisandpulmonary embolism.[23]

In response, the German government banned the sale of coltsfoot.Clonalplants of coltsfoot free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were then developed inAustriaandGermany.[24]This has resulted in the development of the registered varietyTussilago farfara'Wien', which has no detectable levels of these alkaloids.[25]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcFlann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae ChecklistArchived2014-11-06 atarchive.today
  2. ^Stace, C. A.(2010).New Flora of the British Isles(Third ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521707725.
  3. ^USDA, NRCS(n.d.)."Tussilago farfara".The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov).Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.Retrieved12 December2015.
  4. ^Capasso, Francesco (2011)."Capitolo M12: Droghe obsolete e/o poco studiate".Farmacognosia: Botanica, chimica e farmacologia delle piante medicinali(in Italian) (Seconda edizione ed.). Springer Milan. p. 428.doi:10.1007/978-88-470-1652-1_30.ISBN978-88-470-1652-1.Tussilago,dal latinotussis= tosse eago= scaccio.
  5. ^Booth, David (1835).An analytical dictionary of the English language.James Cochrane and Co. p.312.Tussilago,from the Latintussis,a cough, andago,to act upon, to cure; from its reputed virtues.
  6. ^Theodore M. Barkley (2006)."TussilagoLinnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 372. 1754 ".Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, Part 7: Asteraceae, Part 2.Flora of North America.Vol. 20.Oxford University Press.p. 635.ISBN9780195305647.
  7. ^Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012Webb's An Irish Flora.Cork University PressISBN978-185918-4783.
  8. ^Flora of China, Vol. 20-21, p. 461Khoản đôngkuan dongTussilago farfaraLinnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 865. 1753..
  9. ^Altervista Flora Italiana, genereTussilagoincludes photos and distribution maps.
  10. ^abNiering, William A.;Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979].The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region.Knopf. p. 410.ISBN0-394-50432-1.
  11. ^Grigson G. 1974. A Dictionary of English Plant Names. Allen Lane.ISBN0-71-390442-9.
  12. ^Coulombe Jr., Roger A. (2003)."Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foods".In Taylor, Steve L. (ed.).Advances in Food and Nutrition Research.Vol. 45. Academic Press. p. 76.ISBN0-12-016445-0.
  13. ^abcFirst Foot: The Medieval Garden Enclosed.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
  14. ^Joannes de Vigo.Works of Chirurgery,1543.
  15. ^Thomas Cooper,Thesaurus Linguae Romanae et Britannicae(1584).
  16. ^Sylvia Vogl, Paolo Picker, Judit Mihaly-Bison, Nanang Fakhrudin, Atanas G. Atanasov, Elke H. Heiss, Christoph Wawrosch, Gottfried Reznicek, Verena M. Dirsch, Johannes Saukel & Brigitte Koppa (2013)."Ethnopharmacologicalin vitrostudies on Austria's folk medicine – an unexplored lorein vitroanti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs ".Journal of Ethnopharmacology.149(3): 750–771.doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007.PMC3791396.PMID23770053.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements",Journal of Food and Drug Analysis,Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-211[1][dead link].
  18. ^Röder, E., "Medicinal plants inEuropecontaining pyrrolizidine alkaloids ",Pharmazie,1995, pp. 83-98. Reprinted on Henriette's Herbal website.[2].
  19. ^Frei, H.J., Luethy, J., Brauchli, L., Zweifel, U., Wuergler, F.E., & Schlatter, C.,Chem. Biol. Interact.,83: 1, 1992.
  20. ^Sperl, W., Stuppner, H., Gassner, I.; "Reversible hepatic veno-occlusive disease in an infant after consumption of pyrrolizidine-containing herbal tea."Eur. J. Pediatr.1995;154:112–6.
  21. ^Roulet, M., Laurini, R., Rivier, L., Calame, A.; "Hepatic veno-occlusive disease in newborn infant of a woman drinking herbal tea."J Pediatrics.1988;112:433–6.
  22. ^Frohne D, Pfänder HJ. Poisonous Plants: A Handbook for Doctors, Pharmacists, Toxicologists, Biologists and Veterinarians. Timber Press, 2005.
  23. ^Freshour JE, Odle B, Rikhye S, Stewart DW. Coltsfoot as a potential cause of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in a patient also consuming kava and blue vervain. J Diet Suppl. 2012;9(3):149-54. doi: 10.3109/19390211.2012.708391.
  24. ^Wawrosch, Ch.; Kopp, B.; Wiederfield, H.; "Permanent monitoring of pyrrolizidine alkaloid content in micropropagated Tussilago farfara L.: A tool to fulfil statutory demands for the quality of coltsfoot in Austria and Germany",Acta horticulturae,2000, no. 530, pp. 469-472[3].
  25. ^Wawrosh C., "In Vitro Cultivation of Medicinal Plants" cited in Yaniv Z. and Bachrach U., Eds "Handbook of Medicinal Plants", The Hawthorne Medical Press NY Lond. 2005.

Further reading[edit]

  • R. Schubert & G. Wagner:Botanisches WörterbuchUlmer, Stuttgart 1993,ISBN3-8252-1476-1(in German)
  • H. Haeupler & Th. Muer:Bildatlas der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen DeutschlandsUlmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2000.ISBN3-8001-3364-4.(in German)
  • Gerhard Madaus:Lehrbuch der biologischen HeilmittelBd 1. Heilpflanzen. G. Thieme, Leipzig 1938, Olms, Hildesheim 1979.ISBN3-487-05890-1(in German)
  • Guide des plantes sauvages comestibles et toxiques, les guides du naturaliste, François Couplan et Eva StinnerISBN2-603-00952-4(in French)
  • Кирпичников М. Э. Семейство сложноцветные, или астровые (Asteraceae, или Compositae) // Жизнь растений. В 6-ти т. / Под ред. А. Л. Тахтаджяна. — М.: Просвещение, 1981. — Т. 5. Ч. 2. Цветковые растения. — С. 462–476. — 300000 экз.(in Russian)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tussilago&oldid=1205670582"