Picrorhiza

Nepal. Decoction of the leaf is taken orally by adults as an anthelmintic" """. The powdered leaf is mixed with cattle feed as a treatment for diarrhea " " . For headache, the dried leaves are ground with Datura stramonium leaves and Picrorhiza schrophu lariflora stem and water then applied externally" " ". The leaf juice is used externally as an antiseptic, as a hemostat on cuts and wounds, and to treat swelling of sprained joints" "". The seeds are crushed, mixed with curd, and taken orally for dysentery" """. Decoction of the seed is taken orally as an anthelmintic" ". To aid in parturition, 2 teaspoonfuls of powdered seeds... 

Bhandari P, Kumar N, Singh B, Ahuja PS. Online HPFC-DPPH method for antioxidant achvity of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. and characterization of kutkoside by Ultra-Performance FC-elechospray ionizahon quadrupole ttme-of-flight mass spectrometry. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology. 2010 48 323-328. 

Picrorhiza has been used widely in India, and no significant adverse reactions have been reported to date. The oral LD50 of Picrorhiza iridoid glycosides (known as kutkin ) is greater than 2600mg/kg in rats. 

Picrorhiza kurroa Royle. Hu Huang Lain (root) Cathartic acid, picrorhizin, kurrin, aglycone, kutkin, vanillic acid.49 450 Antipyretic, stomachic. 

Aglycone Corchorus capsularis, C. olitorius, Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora, G. uralensis, Picrorhiza kurroa... 

R. laevigata, R. maximowicziana, R. multiflora Agrimonia eupatoria, A. pilosa, A. viscidula Portulaca oleracea Acacia cutechu Picrorhiza kurroa Strophanthus divaricatus Strophanthus divaricatus Caulophyllum robustum Tripterygium wilfordii... 

Sophora flavescens, S. alopecurosides Picrorhiza kurroa Picrorhiza kurroa Cannabis chinensis, C. sativa Abrus precatorius... 

G. confusum, G. javanum, G. luteo-album, G. multiceps, G. ramigerum, G. tranzschelii, G. uliginosum, Panax quinquefolium, Syzygium aromaticum, Ulmus campestris, U. macrocarpa, U. pumila Jatropha gospiifolia, J. curcas Alstonia scholaris Picrasma quassioides Alstonia scholaris Picrorhiza kurroa Vitex nequndo... 

Hu Huang Lian (Picrorhizae rhizoma), Mai Ya (Hordei fructus germinatus), Shen Qu (Massa medicata fermentata) and Shan Zha (Crataegi fructus)... 

Hu Huang Lian (Picrorhizae rhizoma) to promote digestion. 

Picrorhiza kurroa Scrophulariaceae Root Sharma and Dwivedi (1997)... 

Protocatechuic acid (= 3, 4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid) (phenolic acid) Widespread Allium cepa (Liliaceae), Helianthus (Asteraceae), Erica (Ericaceae), Hibiscus (Malvaceae), Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae), Picea (Pinaceae), Picrorhiza (Scrophulariaceae), fern, Actinidia (Actinidiaceae), Olea (Oleaceae) Rheum (Polygonaceae) spp. PEP (28) [antifungal, AI]... 

Herbal medicines are becoming more and more popular, and indeed some herbal products may be considered to benefit people with liver disease, e.g. Silybum marianum (milk thistle), Picrorhiza kurroa, Phyllanthus, etc. Herbal hepatotoxicity is increasingly being recognised, for example, with kava kava, black cohosh, and many traditional Chinese remedies. The range of liver injury includes minor transaminase elevations, acute and chronic hepatitis, steatosis, cholestasis, zonal or diffuse hepatic necrosis, veno-occlusive disease and acute liver failure. In addition to the potential for hepatotoxicity, herb-drug interactions may affect the safety and efficacy of concurrent medical therapy [15]. 

Nautiyal, B. P., Prakash, V., Chauhan, R. S., Purohit, H. and Nautiyal, M. C. (2001). Assessment of germinability, productivity and cost benefit analysis of Picrorhiza kurrooa, cultivated at lower altitudes. Current Science, 81 (5) 579-585. 

Picrorhiza kurrooa Kutak Scrophulaceae Herb Root Typhoid fever, Jaundice... 

Picrorhiza kurroa Benth. Scrophulariaceae Kutki Roots Used as blood purification, stomach disorder, cardiac problems... 

Bedi KL, Zutshi U, Chopra CL, Amla V. Picrorhiza kurroa, an Ayurvedic herb, may potentiate photochemotherapy in vitiligo. J Ethnopharmacol 1989 27 347-352. 

Picrorhiza. Dried rhizome of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle, Scrophulariaceae. Habit. Himalayas. Constft Piero-rhizin—a glucoside. 

Numerous iridoids are involved in plant-animal interactions e.g. the defensive function of this type of compounds in ants. From the pharmacological standpoint, the applications of this class of compounds are rather limited. Some iridoids have anti-inflammatory activity, which is weak by the oral route and stronger by topical application e.g. 1 mg of aucubin, verbenalin, or loganin have an activity almost similar to that of 0.5 mg of indomethacin on the TPA-induced mouse ear edema. Some are ingredients in various forms of allopathic medications (valerian), others are typically, phytotherapeutic products (devil s claw, olive tree). Others receive attention for their non-pharmaceutical applications (yellow gentian). The hepatoprotective effects of picrosides I and II from kutkin, the crude active fraction in Picrorhiza kurroa is well known and documented. 

Picracin (cucurbitacin Q) and deacetylpicracin (cucurbitacin O) from Picrorhiza scrophulariaeflora, Fig. (13), inhibited phytohemagglutinin-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 1 (iM. This effect cannot be due to the cytotoxicity of the compounds since in specific experiments the authors demonstrated that neither cucurbitacin exhibits toxic effects for IC50 values up to 50 pM. The mechanism of action seems to be an interference with the cytoskeleton and subsequent abrogation of proliferative signal transduction, which in turn inhibits T-lymphocyte proliferation [70]. 

Banerjee, D., Maity, B., Nag, S. K., Bandyopadhyay, S. K., and Chattopadhyay, S. (2008). Healing potential of Picrorhiza kurroa (Scrofulariaceae) rhizomes against indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration A mechanistic exploration. BMC Complement. Altern. Med. 8,3. 

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