Uzara
| Uzara | ||||||||||||
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Uzara ( Xysmalobium undulatum ) |
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| Xysmalobium undulatum | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) R.Br. |
Uzara ( Xysmalobium undulatum ) is a species of the silk plant family (Asclepiadoideae). It is based in South Africa. For many generations, South African folk medicine has been gaining remedies from its roots, which the Xhosa people call "Uzara medicine". African healers use Uzara medicine for indigestion, menstrual disorders, migraines and colds. In Germany, a dry extract has been obtained from the Uzara root since 1911. With him u. a. Treats diarrheal diseases .
description
Uzara is a bitter-tasting, perennial herbaceous plant that grows vertically upwards (orthotrophic, monopodial) on a straight main axis . After an early secondary growth in thickness, a tuber is formed with many side roots. The shoot axis carries a lot of milky sap . In one growing season , the Uzara plant can grow up to one meter. Their hairy stem axis has a circular cross-section of up to 3 centimeters in diameter. The distance between two nodes (internodal length) is about 7 to 10 cm. The short-stemmed, lanceolate, leathery leaves are 7 to 15 cm long and cross. The smooth leaf edge is curled by the stiffened leaf blade.
On an axillary inflorescence stem sits a golden inflorescence with up to twelve flowers. The radial symmetry flower is predominantly five-fold.
The up to 7 cm long follicles open on one side when ripe. The fruit contains around 300 dark brown seeds arranged like scales with a flying apparatus made up of many fine white hairs.
inflorescence
blossoms
Ants on the flowers
Young fruits
Leaky milk juice
root
On the outside, a closing fabric ( periderm ) surrounds the root. It mainly consists of mostly two to three layers of thin-walled cork cells. The cortical parenchyma consists of rounded or tangentially elongated cells with clearly stippled walls and gas-filled cavities ( intercellular spaces ). In the cambium large bore Tüpfelgefäße lie. Vessel bundles run through the entire wooden part. In all parenchymal cells of the root there are starch grains of different shapes and sizes. It also contains a striking number of cavities with calcium salt crystals ( calcium oxalate glands ).
Occurrence and cultivation
Until the first half of the last century, the wild Uzara plants were collected in the Transvaal north of Pretoria . Their roots were dried and exported to Germany. From the second half of the 20th century, Uzara cultures were established. In the second year after sowing, the fleshy roots are harvested, cut into pieces 2 to 3 cm long and air-dried on wire trolleys. Attempts to cultivate the perennial in Germany failed. The climatic conditions there are inadequate (excessive precipitation, risk of ground frost in winter and too little solar radiation in the year).
Use as a medicinal plant
Uzara medicine (folk medicine)
"Uzara medicine" is what the Xhosa people call the herbal remedy from the root of the Xysmalobium undulatum plant. It has had its place in South African folk medicine for at least 160 years - among locals and European immigrants. African healers use it for various ailments: for example, digestive disorders and menstrual disorders, but also migraines and colds. They also use the milky sap of the Uzara plant to treat festering wounds.
Medical use in Germany
In Germany, a purely herbal extract has been obtained from the Uzara root since 1911, which is used to treat acute diarrheal diseases.
effect
The Uzara root contains cardenolide glycosides such as uzarin and xysmalorin, which act very quickly. Chemically, they are related to the digitalis glycosides. The mechanism of action is believed to be that Uzara glycosides affect the autonomic nervous system.
Uzara glycosides inhibit the movements of the smooth muscle organs, including the peristalsis (muscle activity) of the intestine and the urinary and genital area. They therefore also have a relaxing effect. In the case of acute diarrhea, for example, it is no longer necessary to go to the toilet as often. The high frequency of bowel movements is normalized without a temporary paralysis of the bowel. This is where the effect of the Uzara glycosides differs from the effect of other preparations, such as opiates . The latter temporarily switch off the bowel function completely. The intestine cannot empty itself and therefore cannot detoxify. However, poisons such as the toxic excretions of bacteria are often the cause of diarrhea and should not be left in the intestines.
In addition to the calming and inhibiting effect on the movement of smooth muscle organs, the Uzara glycosides reduce the transfer of water and electrolytes into the intestinal lumen and thus lower the loss of water and minerals.
Current clinical studies on effectiveness are not available.
Side effects
Uzara glycosides differ from digitalis glycosides in their sugar linkage and spatial configuration. For this reason, Uzara glycosides have no effect on the heart muscle in therapeutic doses. Nevertheless, digitized patients should know that inadvertent overdoses can cause interactions.
Uzara glycosides influence laboratory tests to determine the digitalis level and can thus simulate falsely high concentrations of digoxin and digitoxin .
literature
- Karl-Hans Brathge: About the glycosides and aglycones of the Uzara root. Hamburg 1952
- Marianne Compes: Uzara in the treatment of the threatened abortion. Jena 1944
- Majid Ghorbani: Isolation and pharmacological testing of ingredients of the root of Xysmalobium undulatum (L.) R. Br. (Uzara) . 1992
- Karl Josef Grobel: Contributions to the knowledge of the Uzara components. Marburg 1925
- Alexander Mark Kuritzkes: The glycosides of Xysmalobium undulatum R. BR. Basel 1963
- Ulrike Schaub: About the cultivation of Xysmalobium undulatum (L.) R. BR., In connection with studies on the metabolism of Uzara glycosides in the course of plant development and in tissue cultures. 1993
- Hermann Schröter: On the pharmacology of the Uzara drug. Marburg 1930
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thürmann PA, Neff A, Fleisch J: Interference of Uzara glycosides in assays of digitalis glycosides . In: Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther . 42, No. 5, May 2004, pp. 281-4. PMID 15176651 .
