Ipecacuanha root

At the turn of the nineteenth century, methods became available for the isolation of active principles from crude drugs. The development of chemistry made it possible to isolate and synthesize chemically pure compounds that would give reproducible biological results. In 1806, Serturner (1783-1841) isolated the first pure active principle when he purified morphine from the opium poppy. Many other chemically pure active compounds were soon obtained from crude drug preparations, including emetine by Pelletier (1788-1844) from ipecacuanha root quinine by Carentou (1795-1877) from cinchona bark strychnine by Magendie (1783-1855) from nux vomica and, in 1856, cocaine by Wohler (1800-1882) from coca. 

The ipecacuanha root has three actions expectorant, emetic and amoebicidal. The expectorant action is due to the irritant effect of emetine and cephaeline on the gastrointestinal tract, which causes a reflex increase in the secretion of respiratory tract fluid. The dose is... 

Compoimd Syrun of Black Cokosh. Macerate 2 ounces olock cohosh (black snake-root), 1 ounce seneka root, 1 ounce liquorice root, and ounce ipecacuanha root in dilate alcohol for 24 hours then transfer to a percolator and run through two pints evaporate the excess of alcohol by a water-bath, and convert into a syrup with sufficient quantity of sugar lastly, treat 2 ounces wild cher bark with half a pint of cold water, which add to the syrup previously cooled. 

Atlee s Cot h SEixture. 2 mind acetate of morphia 1 drachm each tincture of belladonna and tincture of nux-Tomica 3 drachma each antimonial wine and syrup of ipecacuanha root 1 ounce fluid extract of wild cherry bark, and 2 ounces syrap of balsam of tola. A teo-spounful 4 times a day relieves chronic or backing cough. 

Ipecacuanhae root Cephaelis ipecacuanha (BORT.) RICH. Rio and Matto-Grosso)... 

The emetic effects are presumably mediated by 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 (5HTj) receptors (Hasegawa et al, 2002). Ipecacuanha syrup is used to induce emesis after accidental ingestion of poisons. In lower doses, the extract of P. ipecacuanha roots is used as expectorant. 

P. ipecacuanha occurs in the rainforests of Meso and South America. It was traditionally used in the Brazilian folk medicine. In the seventeenth century, the plant was brought by traders to France, and soon it found application in Europe as treatment against dysentery. The British physician Thomas Dover invented a special preparation P. ipecacuanha that was named Dover s powder after him. It consisted of Ipecacuanha root, opium, and potassium sulphate and was used as diaphoretic and medicine against cold and fever. 

Ipecacuanha root of the B.P. consists of the dried root or the rhizome and root of either Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Rio root) or Cephaelis acuminata (Cartagena, Nicaragua, or Panama root). Good samples of the former variety contain between 2 and 2 5 per cent of total alkaloids, of which 60 to 70 per cent is non-phenolic (calculated as emetine) and about 25 per cent cephaeline with small quantities of other alkaloids such as psychotrine. C. acuminata may yield more total alkaloids and some samples have been examined which contain well over 3 per cent. The proportion of non-phenolic alkaloids is lower in this variety, however, being of the order of 20 to 40 per cent. At one time C. ipecacuanha was the only official variety of ipecacuanha and a requirement was, therefore, included for non-phenolic alkaloids. This standard no longer applies although the amount of non-phenolic alkaloids present in a sample is still required for some commercial transactions. 

Ipecac is prepared from the dried roots and rhizomes of Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) A. Rich, and contains the alkaloids emetine [483-18-1] (17) and cephaeJine [483-17-0] (18) in a ratio between 2 1 and 4 1. It has been used extensively in cough preparations and is beheved to act by gastric reflex stimulation. Toxic effects include vomiting, irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, and cardiac arrhythmias (19). Ipecac symp is available over-the-counter in the United States only in 30-mL containers for use as an emetic in treating poisonings. 

The roots of Cephcelis Ipecacuanha (Brot) A. Rich constitute the Brazilian ipecacuanha of commerce and also that cultivated in the Federated Malay States, Bengal and Burma. Carthagena ipecacuanha is derived from Cephcelis acuminata Karsten collected in Colombia. Emetine, the principal alkaloid of this drug, was first obtained by Pelletier and Magendie in 1817, but was first prepared in a pure state by Paul and Cownley, who separated from commercial emetine the phenolic base, cephaeline, and later obtained a third alkaloid, psychotrine. To these Pyman added emetamine and 0-methylpsychotrine. 

Owing to the frequency with which the botanical attribution of ipecacuanha has been changed, and to the considerable number of substitutes which have from time to time appeared, it is difficult to summarise briefly the botanical distribution of the ipecacuanha alkaloids, and readers interested in this subject may be referred to Staub for information and references. Freise states that emetine and the allied bases are to be found in certain Rubiaceous spp. not usually regarded as sources of these alkaloids, and Orazi has stated that the roots of Bourreria... 

Ipecacuanha Extracted from the bark or root of the Cephaelis plant, ipecacuanha was used to treat dysentery. 

Ipecac syrup is prepared from the dried rhizome and roots of Cephaelis ipecacuanha or Cephaelis acuminata, plants from Brazil and Central America that have the alkaloid emetine as their active principal ingredient. It acts directly on the CTZ and also indirectly by irritating the gastric mucosa. Ipecac is cardiotoxic if absorbed and can cause cardiac conduction disturbances, atrial fibrillation, or fatal myocarditis. If emesis does not occur, gastric lavage using a nasogastric tube must be performed. 

Emetine is the main alkaloid found in the root of Cephadis ipecacuanha [102], which has been used for centuries as an emetic and was subsequently shown to be a potent antiamebic [103], A concise synthesis of this compound as well as a small library of analogues was recently reported by Tietze and co-workers [104], who made use of their powerful three-component domino-Knoevenagel-condensation/ hetero-[4+2] reaction sequence previously described in Section 8.1. 

Avarol and avarone derivatives (from the Red Sea sponge Dysidea cinerea), the alkaloids psy-chotrine and O-methylpsychotrine (from ipecac, the dried rhizome and root of Cephaelis ipecacuanha), and phloroglucinol derivatives such as mallotojaponin, from the pericarps of Mallotus japonicus, have all been reported to inhibit the reverse transcriptase activity of HIV-1, noncom-petitively with respect to the natural substrate (dNTP). In neither case was the anti-HIV-1 activity determined in cell culture, so it is not clear whether any of these compounds is really an effective... 

Ipecac is the root of Cephaetis ipecacuanha, or of C. acuminata, a perennial shrub growing in Brazil and other South American states (Figure 44.1). It contains three alkaloids — emetin, cephaelin, and psychotrin. The dose of the powdered drug as an expectorant is from 1/2 to 2 grain (0.03 to 0.13 g) as an emetic, 15 to 30 grain (1.0 to 2.0 g) (Table 44.1). 

Ipecac ( Brazil root ) was long employed by the native people of Brazil in the treatment of diarrhea. It was sold as a secret remedy to the French government in 1658, and its use in dysentery rapidly spread throughout Europe and India. Its employment was entirely empirical until 1912 when Vedder demonstrated the in vitro efficacy of emetine against E. histolytica and suggested that ipecac be used in amebic infections. The source of ipecac is the dried root or rhizome of C. ipecacuanha or C. acuminata, plants native to Brazil and Central America, but also cultivated in India, the Straits Settlements, and the Federated Malay States (see Grollman, 1962). 

FIGURE 44.1 Ipecac plant— Cephaelis (Uragoga) ipecacuanha (a) flowering shoot, (b) flower in longitudinal section, (c) fruit, (d) fruit in transverse section, (e) seed, (f) annulate root. 

Note The most commonly used emetics are ipecac and apomorphine. Induced emesis is the preferred means of emptying the stomach in awake patients who have ingested a toxic substance or have recently taken a drug overdose. Emesis should not be induced if there is central nervous system depression or ingestion of certain volatile hydrocarbons and caustic substances. Ipecac syrup is prepared from the dried rhizome and roots of Cephaelis ipecacuanha or of C. accuminata, plants from Brazil and Central America, in which the alkaloid emetine is its active principal ingredient. 

Berberis, Mahonia spp. (Berberidaceae), Jateorrhiza palmata (Menispermaceae) Papaveraceae Alangium lamarckii (Alangiaceae) [bark, root, seed], Cephaelis ipecacuanha (ipecacuanha),... 

An alkaloid present in ipecacuanha, the dried root, or rhizome and root, of Cephaelis ipecacuanha =Uragoga ipecacuanha) (Rubiaceae) or C. acuminata. 

The opposition of the factors suggests an optimum particle size for any particular extraction. This is determined to some extent by the physical nature of the solids. A dense, woody structure would be extracted as a fine powder. An example is given by the root of Ipecacuanha. A leafy structure, on the other hand, would be more satisfactorily leached as a coarse powder. 

Ipecacuanha is an extract of the root of Psychotria ipecacuanha, also known as Cephaelis ipecacuanha, a member of the Rubiaceae. It contains the emetic alkaloids cephaehne and emetine. It has often been used as a home remedy for various purposes, and not only as an emetic. It is a traditional ingredient of some expectorants, since expectoration often accompanies vomiting. Misuse of ipecacuanha by patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia has resulted in severe myopathy, lethargy, eiythema, dysphagia, cardiotoxi-city, and even death. Use in infancy generally seems safe. 

The root of Cephaeiis ipecacuanha, also known as Psychotria ipecacuanha, is the source of ipecacuanha, which contains the emetic alkaloids emetine and cephaeline. Ipecacuanha is covered in a separate monograph. 

Fig. 232.—CephaHis ipecacuanha—Plant and dried root. Sayre.)...

Table 3. Effects of lAA on rooting of C. ipecacuanha shoots after 8 weeks of cultnring on B5 solid medium at 25 °C under 16 hr/day light (80 fiEm S )...

Table 6. Recovery of emetine and cephaeline from the medium used for root culture of C. ipecacuanha...

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