California buckthorn

For the plant, another good way to stop consumption by an animal is to affect the animal s gastrointestinal system. This approach is used by a number of plants, but the mechanism of action varies. The first approach is direct irritation of the stomach lining to induce nausea and vomiting. The induction of mild vomiting is useful in some situations. The sacred bark of the California buckthorn produces cascara that is used to induce mild vomiting (a purgative). 

Gastrointestinal Direct stomach irritation -nausea, vomiting and diarrhea California buckthorn (sacred bark), tung nut, horse chestnut, pokeweed Emodin and esculine (toxins) oil from seeds, nuts some medical uses Children are most often affected... 

A plant of the Pacific Northwest, used by Native Americans as a laxative. An active ingredient of the bark, emodin, may have anticancer properties. Also called California buckthorn. 

Cascara sagrada, the dried bark of Rhamnus purshiana, was first used in conventional American medicine in 1877, after being introduced as a laxative by Mexican and Spanish priests in California. A European counterpart (European buckthorn R frangula) was described by the Anglo-Saxons, and the berries were included in the 1650 London Pharmacopoeia (Anonymous, 1996). 

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