Hintonia latiflora

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Hintonia latiflora
Flowers of Hintonia latiflora

Flowers of Hintonia latiflora

Systematics
Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales)
Family : Red family (Rubiaceae)
Subfamily : Cinchonoideae
Tribe : Cinchoneae
Genre : Hintonia
Type : Hintonia latiflora
Scientific name
Hintonia latiflora
( Sessé & Moc. Ex DC. ) Bullock

Hintonia latiflora is a flowering plant in the family of the redness plants (Rubiaceae). It is common in large parts of Central and South America, especially in Mexico and Guatemala . Common names are Copalchi or Mexican fever bark tree. Its use in tea preparations has long been common in their homeland among the indigenous population and has been known in Europe, especially in Spain and Germany, since the 19th century. Hintonia latiflora hasa long tradition as a tea drink infolk medicine in the countries of origin.

description

Stalked, simple leaves

Hintonia latiflora grows as a shrub or small tree and reaches heights of up to 5 meters. The against-constantly arranged leaves are stalked short. With a length of 4 to 12 cm and a width of 2.5 to 5 cm, the leaf blade is oval to elliptical with a narrowed blade base.

The terminal inflorescence is multi-flowered. The relatively large, fragrant, white flowers have a striking funnel shape. The six-fold flowers have a calyx border with six lanceolate tips. The ovary is twofold. The capsule fruit is ribbed, glabrous, with numerous seeds with membranous wings in each compartment, which have a length of 2 to 2.5 cm.

Taxonomy

Synonyms for Hintonia latiflora ( Sessé & Moc. Ex DC. ) Bullock are Portlandia pterosperma S.Watson and Coutarea pterosperma (S.Watson) Standl. .

origin

The natural habitat of Hintonia latiflora are tropical, seasonally dry deciduous or thorn forests on the slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental . Dried pieces of bark for tea preparation come from controlled wild collection, the main supplier country is Mexico, the plant is also found in large parts of Central and South America.

Falsifications and mix-ups

The etymological origin of the word "Copalchi" comes from the Aztec language Nahuatl , whereby the root word "Copal" generally stands for resinous bark of various origins → Copal (tree resin) . South American folk medicine knows as "Copalchi" -generating species in addition to Hintonia latiflora also Exostema caribaeum , Coutarea hexandra (both from the Rubiaceae family) and Croton niveus . The latter type is a Euphorbiaceae , which has a significantly different pattern of phytochemicals. Other croton species such as B. Croton cajucata is said to be toxic to the liver . Confusion between Hintonia and Croton should therefore be avoided. Since hintonia bark is mostly marketed under the unspecific name Copalchi, the origin of the plant material from a controlled collection is essential in view of the possibility of confusion.

Secondary phytonutrients

Hintonia latiflora contains high amounts of polyphenols , mainly neoflavones and their glycosides (e.g. coutareagenin), quercetin and phenol carboxylic acids .

The health-promoting effect that Hintonia is said to have is associated with the polyphenols (bio-flavonoids) that act as powerful antioxidants . Flavonoids and other polyphenols protect the body's cells from free radicals and slow down cell oxidation. Polyphenols in the diet support important body functions such as the immune system if they are consumed regularly. For the neoflavones from Hintonia, especially the coutareagenin , a positive effect on the physiological control of the blood sugar balance was experimentally derived.

use

The use of Hintonia as a food in the form of a health-promoting drink has a long tradition in the countries of origin of the plant, with Hintonia tea being said to improve health and vitality. For this purpose, about 1 tablespoon of dried Hintonia bark is poured over a liter of boiling water and after about 5 minutes spread over the day, especially after meals.

Hintonia latiflora is used in Central and South America both as a popular food and as a remedy (home remedy) to lower fever, as a tonic and to improve the dietary blood sugar balance. In Mexico, "Copalchi bark" is used to reduce fever in malaria , as Roborans and in dyspeptic complaints. The use in herbal teas during convalescence or generally as a health-promoting measure due to the contained vegetable polyphenols is widespread.

In Europe, preparations made from Hintonia latiflora have been used as tea to maintain health and to support the stabilization of physiological blood sugar levels since the beginning of the 19th century . Centuries- old experience is available about the Hintonia plant and its preparations. In Germany, its use was documented more than 50 years ago. As a daily drink for a healthy sugar metabolism, monographs recommend drinking several cups of Hintonia tea throughout the day. The effect of a Hintonia preparation beyond the basic setting of type II diabetics was investigated in a non-interventional, open, single-center clinical study. After 18 months of use, all blood sugar control values ​​were improved. As a dietary measure, Hintonia could indeed contribute to stabilizing the basic diabetic attitude.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ S. Noster, L. Kraus: Hintonia. In: W. Blaschek, S. Ebel, E. Hackenthal, U. Holzgrabe, K. Keller and J. Reichling: Hagers Handbook of Drugs and Medicinal Plants. HagerROM 2006; Springer Electronic Media, ISBN 978-3-540-28235-8 .
  2. ↑ a b A. A. Bullock. In: Hooker's Icones Plantarum. London, 3295 (1935).
  3. ^ A b H. Kaiser, H. Geyer: On the pharmacognosy of the Copalchi bark. In: Arch. Pharm. 288/60 (11-12), 1955, pp. 253-271.
  4. ↑ Leonard F. DeBano: Biodiversity and the management of the Madrean Archipelago: The Sky Island of Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Diane Publishing, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7881-8386-7 . P. 208.
  5. ↑ Kelsey R. Downum, John T. Romeo, Helen A. Stafford: Phytochemical potential of Tropical Plants. Springer Science & Business Media, New York 1993. ISBN 978-1-4899-1783-6 . P. 59.
  6. ↑ MC Soares: Would Sacaca, Croton cajucara Benth (Euphorbiaceae) be an hepatotoxic plant like Germander, Teucrium chamaedrys L. (Labiatae)? In: Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. 37 (Suppl 2): ​​96-97, (2004).
  7. ↑ R. Hegnauer: Chemotaxonomy of plants. Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 978-3-0348-9965-9 (Reprint 2014).
  8. ^ H. Geyer: Contributions to the pharmacognosy, chemistry and pharmacology of the bark of Coutarea latiflora DC: and to the knowledge of the Copalchi bark. Dissertation , University of Stuttgart, (1955).
  9. ↑ a b G. Rehrer: Investigation of the bark of Coutarea latiflora DC (Rubiaceae) and other "Copalchi" barks. Isolation and characterization of new ingredients. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, (1982).
  10. ^ R. Mata, MR Camacho, E. Cervera, R. Byes, E. Linares: Secondary metabolites from Hintonia latiflora. In: Phytochemistry . 29 (6): 2037-2040, (1990).
  11. ^ W. Gerecke: About some of the ingredients of Coutarea latiflora and the synthesis of luteolin. Dissertation, University of Tübingen, (1961).
  12. ↑ a b c d S. Noster: Investigation of the Copalchi bark with special consideration of Coutarea hexandra (Jacq.) Schum., Exostema carribaeum (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult., Exostema mexicanum Gray and Hintonia latiflora (Sessé & Moc. Ex DC.) Bullock. Dissertation, Institute for Applied Botany and Pharmacognosy at the University of Hamburg (1992)
  13. ↑ A. Hässig, WX Liang, H. Schwabl, K. Stampfli: Flavonoids and tannins: plant-based antioxidants with vitamin character. In: Med. Hypotheses. 52 (5): 479-481, (1999).
  14. ^ JH Yoon, SJ Baek: Molecular Targets of Dietary Polyphenols with Anti-inflammatory Properties. In: Yonsei Med. J. 46 (5): 585-596, (2005).
  15. ↑ R. Korec, KH Sensch, T. Zoukas: Effects of the neoflavonoid coutareagenin, one of the antidiabetic active substances of hintonia latiflora, on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in rats. In: drug research. 50 (2): 122-128, (2000).
  16. ^ R. Paris, M. Bastien: A propos de l'action hypoglycémicante de deux drogues dénommées "Copalchi": Coutarea latoflora (Rubiacées) et Croton niveus (Euphorbiacées). In: Ann. Pharm. Fr. 18: 205-219, (1960).
  17. ^ J. Martinez del Campo: Corteza de Jojutla (Coutarea latiflora). Anal from the Instituto Medico Nacional de Mexico. 6: 53-55, (1904).
  18. ↑ Hintonia. Hager's Handbook of Pharmaceutical Practice . (1993, 2001)
  19. ↑ Korecova, M., Hladicová, M., and Korec, R. (2006). Hintonia latoflora in type 2 diabetes. Long-term clinical study. In: Z. f. Phytother. 27 (6): 272-278 doi : 10.1055 / s-2007-967719