Greater celandine

Sample preparation Dried greater celandine was pulverized and briefly boiled in 0.05 mol sulfuric acid. After cooling to room temperature the mixture was placed in a separating funnel and adjusted to pH 10 with ammonia solution and extracted once with chloroform. The organic phase was dried with sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was taken up in methanol and used as the sample solution for TLC. 

An alkaloid obtained from the greater celandine, Chelidonium majus (Papaveraceae). 

Stickel, F., Poschl, G., Seitz, H.K., Waldherr, R., Hahn, E.G., Schup-pan, D. Acute hepatitis induced by Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus). Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 2003 38 565-568... 

The genera in the family of Papaveraceae (Table 1) include a variety of poppies and the greater celandine. 

Chelidonium majus (celandine, common celandine, greater celandine) contains a number of alkaloids, including chelidonine, chelerythrine, cheUdocystatin, coptisine, sanguinarine, berberine, and sparteine. 

Greater celandine was traditionally used to improve eyesight and in modem times has been used as a mild sedative, and antispasmodic in the treatment of bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, jaundice, gallstones, and gallbladder pain. The latex is used topically to treat warts, ringworm, and corns. A semisynthetic thiophosphate derivative of alkaloids from C. majus, called Ukrain, has cytotoxic and cytostatic effects on tumor cells (1). 

A 42-year-old woman developed acute hepatitis several weeks after taking a herbal formulation containing greater celandine and curcuma root for a skin complaint (5). After withdrawal recovery was rapid and hepatic function returned to normal within 2 months. 

Ten cases of acute hepatitis induced by formulations of greater celandine were observed over 2 years in a German University hospital (6). Perhaps ironically, this product is popular in Germany for gastric and gall-bladder problems. In five cases there was marked cholestasis but no Uver failure. After withdrawal of the product, the symptoms subsided and the Uver enzymes normalized within 2-6 months. Unintentional rechallenge led to a further episode of acute hepatitis in one patient. 

Shekel F, Poschl G, Seitz HK, Waldherr R, Hahn EG, Schuppan D. Acute hepatitis induced by greater celandine Chelidonium majus). Scand J Gastroenterol 2003 38(5) 565-8. 

Etxenagusia MA, Anda M, Gonzalez-Mahave I, Fernandez E, Fernandez de Corres L. Contact dermatitis from Chelidonium majus (greater celandine). Contact Dermatitis 2000 43(1) 47. 

Benninger, J., Schneider, H.T., Schuppan, D., Kirchner, T. and Hahn, E.G. (1999) Acute hepatitis induced by greater celandine (Chelidonium majus). Gastroenterology. 117, 1234-1237. 

Crijns, A., de Smet, P.A., van den Heuvel, M., Schot, B.W., and Haagsma, E.B. 2002. Acute hepatitis after use of a herbal preparation with greater celandine (Chelidonium majus). [Dutch]. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde 146(544), 124-128. 

To illustrate the influence of the chamber atmosphere, four different solutions containing samples of greater celandine were each applied to three 10 x 10 cm HPTLC silica gel 60 plates, and these was developed in an unsaturated N-chamber, a saturated N-chamber and an S-chamber (Fig. 58 a-c). Table 17 shows the hRf values for sanguina-rine together with the chromatographic conditions and also the chromatographic re-... 

Table 17 Influence of the chamber atmosphere as shown with different samples of greater celandine...

The chromatograms of greater celandine shown in Section 10.2.3 Effect of Light are examples of fluorescence measurements without previous derivatization. 

Figure 79. Fluorescence-position curves of a greater celandine DE lane with ca. 5 pg chelidonine...

Figure 23. Influence of impregnation (by predevelopment with the solvent system) on the liKf values of greater celandine substances...

Samples Various parts of the greater celandine plant... 

Figure 58. Influence of the chamber atmosphere on the chromatographic results using the example of greater celandine samples (shots in 365-nm UV light)...

Lane 1 Greater celandine, medicinal drug (dried), powdered, lane 2greater celandine leaves, lane 3 greater celandine stem, lane 4 greater celandine root, lanes 2 one hour after harvesting the plants in July... 

Figure 78. Reaction of chelidonine and other snhstances present in greater celandine DE with high-energy light...

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