American mandrake,

HEPATICS Influence the liver, causing an increased flow of bile.—Chicory, Mandrake (American), Toad Flax, Woodruff. 

Common/vernacular names Mayapple, mandrake, American mandrake, devil s apple, wild lemon, and vegetable mercury. 

Plant extracts Some plant extracts may have anti-cancer activity, such as epipodo phyllotoxins from the May apple plant (mandrake plant). They were used by the American Indians and the early colonists against infection by helminths. 

Etoposide (VePesid) is a semisynthetic derivative of podophyllotoxin that is produced in the roots of the American mandrake, or May apple. Unlike podophyllotoxin and vinca alkaloids, etoposide does not bind to microtubules. It forms a complex with the enzyme topoiso-merase II, which results in a single-strand breakage of DNA. It is most lethal to cells in the S- and Gj-phases of the cell cycle. Drug resistance to etoposide is thought to be caused by decreased cellular drug accumulation. 

Features Stem rough, hairy, freely branched, climbs several feet by numerous curling tendrils. Leaves vine-like, five- or seven-lobed, coarse and rough. Flowers (May to September), white, green-veined, in axillar panicles. Berries scarlet when ripe. Branched root one to two feet long, white internally and externally. Not to be confused with American Mandrake (q.v.). 

American Mandrake is an entirely different plant from White Bryony or English Mandrake, dealt with elsewhere. Preparations of the rhizome of the American Mandrake are found in practice to be much more effective than those of the resin. This is one of the many confirmations of one of the basic postulates of herbal medicine—the nearer we can get to natural conditions the better the results. Therapeutic principles are never the same when taken from their proper environment. 

As American Mandrake is so powerful in certain of its actions, and needs such skillful combination with other herbs, it should not be used by the public without the advice of one experienced in prescribing it to... 

Podophyllum peltatum (may apple, or American mandrake) and P. emodi are. respectively, American and Himalayan plants, widely separated geographically but used in both places as cathartics in folk medicine (94). An alcoholic extract of the rhizome known as podophyllin was included in many pharmacopoeias for its gastrointestinal effects it was included in the U.S.P., for example, from 1820 to 1942. At about this time the beneficial effect of podophyllin, applied topically to benign tumors known as condylomata acuminata, was demonstrated clinically (96). This usage was not inspirational, given that there are records of topical application in the treatment of cancer by the Penobscot Indians of Maine and, subsequently, by various medical practitioners in the United States from the 19th century (96). The crude resinous podophyllin is an irritant and unpleasant mixture unsuited to systemic administration. 

The resin product obtained by extraction of the dried roots and rhizomes of the North American plant Podophyllum peltatum L. (the American mandrake or mayapple) and of the related Indian species Podophyllum emodi Wall. Ex Royle is known as podophyllin and has long been known to possess medicinal properties. The major active substance in podophyllin is the lignan lactone podophyllotoxin (7) although a variety of other lignans and lignan glycosides have also been isolated from podophyllin. ... 

The epipodophyllotoxins (Fig. 42.38) are semisynthetic glycosidic derivatives of podophyllotoxin, the major component of the resinous podophyllin isolated from the dried roots of the American mandrake or mayapple plant (Podophyllum peltatum). Although these compounds are capable of binding to tubulin and inhibiting mitosis, their primary mechanism of antineoplastic action is poisioning topoisomerase II, a mechanism that they share... 

JELKS H J, WALSH S J, BURKHEAD N M, CONTRERAS-BALDERAS S, dIaZ-PARDO E, HENDRICKSON D A, LYONS J, MANDRAK N E, MCCORMICK F, NELSON J S, PLATANIA S P, PORTER B A, RENAUD C B, SCHMHTER-SOTS J J, TAYLOR E B and WARREN M L (2008) Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes, Fisheries, 33,372-405. 

The podophyllotoxin (Fig. 20.22) was isolated from the American mandrake Podophyllum pelatum), which had been traditionally used by American Indians as a laxative and anthelmintic, in 1880. It was subsequently shown to be a potent cytotoxic agent but was too toxic for use in cancer chemotherapy. Chemists at Sandoz in the 1950s further investigated Podophyllum species for analogues of podophyllotoxin. This eventually led to the development of the semi-synthetic compounds tenipinoside and etoposide (Fig. 21.22). These agents are topoisomerase II inhibitors. Teniposide is more cytotoxic than etoposide although it is not orally bioavailable. ... 

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