Aristolochia clematitis Aristolochic acids

N.A. Aristolochia clematitis L. A. serpentaria L. Aristolochic acids, volatile oil, tannins.99 Treat wounds, sores, snakebite, taken after childbirth to prevent infection, heal ulcers, treat asthma and bronchitis. 

Aristolochic acid and its salts, originated from a weed, Aristolochia clematitis, have toxic and carcinogenic effects to the kidneys and urothelium [45], respectively. Ivic [46] postulated that this plant may be a cause of Balkan nephropathy, but failed to provide convincing evidence from field surveys. Evidence that A. clematitis played a central role in the etiology of Chinese herb nephropathy [47-49], a condition similar to Balkan nephropathy, initiated a second look at this previously abandoned hypothesis and it gained a lot of weight by recent data on the association between DNA adduct formation derived from AA, mutation pattern and tumour development in BEN [50] (see also chapter 33). 

Aristolochia clematitis has been used to treat snakebites and wound infections. One of the major alkaloids of this plant is aristolochic acid (46). The plant extract is not directly antimicrobial, but it produces an enhancement of phagocytosis of leucocytes and peritoneal microphages. Aristolochic acid is suspected to be carcinogenic (Pezzuto et al., 1988 Wagner and Proksch, 1985) and has been reported to have antitumor activity. The LD50 i.v. of aristolochic acid (46) in mouse is 38-70 mg/kg (Wink, 1993). 

Aristolochic acid (3,4-methylendioxy-8-methoxy-10-nitrophenanthren carboxylic acid) Aristolochia clematitis... 

---