MEDICINAL PLANTS IN AUSTRALIA Volume 4 An Antipodean Apothecary Cheryll J Williams ROSENBERG First published in Australia in 2013 by Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd PO Box 6125, Dural Delivery Centre NSW 2158 Phone: 61 2 9654 1502 Fax: 61 2 9654 1338 Email: [email protected] Web: www.rosenbergpub.com.au Copyright © Cheryll J. Williams 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher in writing. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Author: Williams, Cheryll. Title: Medicinal plants : an antipodean apothecary / Cheryll J. Williams. ISBN: 9781922013507 (hbk) Series: Medicinal plants in Australia ; v. 4 Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Subjects: Medicinal plants--Australia. Materia medica, Vegetable--Australia. Dewey Number: 615.321 Printed in China by Everbest Printing Co Limited 5 Contents Foreword: Brendan Lepschi 7 4 New Roles for Old Remedies 137 In troduction: Re-evaluating the Past – Herbs for the Centella: Ancient Remedy for the Modern World 137 Future 8 A Remarkable Therapeutic Repertoire 138 Circulatory and Cardiovascular Support 141 1 Flowers of the Materia Medica 18 A Neuroprotective Agent 144 A Potent Floral Pharmacy 19 Table 4.1 Summary of recent investigations of Opium Extraction 22 Centella asiatica and its active components 147 Cardioactive Herbs 24 Remedies for Recollection 150 The Medicinal Rose 29 Leprosy: Disease and Disfigurement 152 The Aromatic Rose 31 The Leprous Affliction 156 Remedies from Rosehips 32 Leprosy Treatment 159 Multipurpose Rose Remedies 35 The Legendary Chaulmoogra 161 Fragrance and Flavourings in Pharmacy 40 Achariaceae in Northern Australia 166 Table 1.1 Overview of the main essential oil yielding Cyanide in Pangium 168 herbs and spices with flavouring qualities that are New Roles for Chaulmoogra Oil? 169 utilised in pharmacy 42 Hy dnocarpus: Flavonoids of Pharmacological Value 171 Herbal Drugs with Activity Against Mycobacteria 175 2 Asteraceae: Daisies of the Apothecary 47 Australian Antimycobacterial Candidates 180 The Garden Apothecary 47 Table 4.2 Plants with antimycobacterial potential A Wound-wort of Distinction: Bellis perennis 48 that are found in Australia (native or naturalised), Analgesic Daisies 51 and closely related native species 184 Table 2.1 Summary of investigations into ‘daisy’ herbs of medicinal value from the genera Acmella, 5 Earth Medicine: A Mineral Pharmacy 193 Spilanthes and Wedelia 55 Antibiotics: The Dirt on Microorganisms 195 Beach Sunflowers and Singapore Daisies 59 Antibacterial Earth 202 Classic Chamomile 66 Antibacterial Metals 205 A Complex Essential Oil 70 Earth as a Poison Antidote 211 Dandelion: a Famed Liver Tonic 70 Clay for Enterotoxins 214 A Traditional Anticancer Herb 74 A Dietary Detoxicant? 219 Marigolds: Treasure in the Garden 77 Drug–Clay Interactions 225 Tagetes: American Marigolds 83 Table 5.1 Summary of clay types used in pharmacy Stinking Roger: an Insecticidal Import 86 and drug delivery systems 226 Contaminant Considerations 229 3 Validating Bush Medicines 90 Soil Science: A New Look at Urban Earth 237 Native Antibacterials 91 A Purification Effect 238 Pterocaulon: A Fragrant Wound Remedy 96 Into the Unknown: Microbes for the Future 243 Plectranthus: Aromatic ‘Native Mints’ 98 Table 3.1 Summary of traditional uses of medicinal 6 A Desire for Dirt? 245 Plectranthus 101 Ancient Art in an Ancient Landscape 245 Antifungal Plectranthus 103 Ornamentation and Display 246 Sneezeweeds 105 Mines from Prehistory 251 Headache Vines 110 Ancient Earth 253 An Aromatic Irritant: Tickweed (Cleome viscosa) 114 Medicinal Muds 255 A Forgotten Herb: the Medicinal Pigweed 118 Mineral Spas 257 Buckthorn: a Native Source of Aesculin 123 Dirt in the Diet? 261 A Renewed Interest in Native Flora 131 Mineral Matters 264 Table 3.2 Overview of Australian plants examined Table 6.1 White Clay and termitaria samples from for biological properties in recent scientific literature the Northern Territory 266 that are of interest for medicinal purposes 132 Table 6.2 Summary of Australian clay resources utilised by Aboriginal people 266 The Puzzle of Chemical Variation 395 The Downside of Clay Ingestion 269 Table 9.1 Duboisia species and the main chemical Parasites from Poo 275 constituents of pharmacological interest 398 Bugs, Bacteria and the Immune System 278 Table 9.2 Australian Solanaceae and their alkaloidal A Parasite that Influences Behaviour? 283 constituents 399 Medicinal Mycobacteria 285 A Toxic Harvest 400 Therapeutic Earthworms 286 Success … and Failure: The Australian Experience 400 A Matter of Overseas Development 401 7 Arid Landscapes: Medicinals and Aromatics from the Desert 291 10 Tobacco Tales 403 Boobialla Bush Tucker 293 Wild Tobacco 403 Bastard Sandalwood: Fragrance from the Desert Table 10.1 Australian Nicotiana: distribution, use Termite Mounds: Underpinning Ecosystems 277 and chemistry 407 Precious Resources 306 Tobacco as Medicine 408 A Poisonous Mystery 309 Risky Business 414 Desert Herbals 312 Table 10.2 Summary of the Symptoms of Nicotinic Table 7.1 Summary of the medicinal uses of Acid Poisoning 416 Eremophila 313 A Local Tobacco Trade 418 Eremophila longifolia: A Variable Essential Oil 320 Native Campanulaceae 422 A Focus on Antimicrobials 321 Verbascoside: A Versatile Pharmacological Agent 325 11 Steroids from Yams 432 Tribe Myoporeae: Intriguing Chemical Dioscorea: Steroidal Substances 432 Complexity 327 A Wild Harvest Table 7.2 A brief summary of the major chemical Table 11.1 The Dioscorea genus as a source of components in the Myoporaceae 327 diosgenin and herbal medicines 434 Eeremophilanes from the Asteraceae 329 Folk Healing Traditions Do donaea: A Rather Remarkable Continental Pioneer 331 Table 11.2 Traditional medicinal uses of Dioscorea Table 7.3 Medicinal use of the Dodonaea genus: yams 437 antimicrobial and healing properties 334 Natural Anticholesterol Agents? 440 Table 7.4 Additional medicinal uses of the Dodonaea Anticancer Yams 444 genus 335 Alternative Steroid Resources 447 8 Ancient Drugs in a Modern World 340 12 Kangaroo Apples and Blackberry Sorcerous Solanaceae 342 Nightshades 451 Medicinal Solanaceae 345 Solasodine for Steroid Production 452 The Black Henbane (Hyoscamus niger) 348 Australian Kangaroo Apples 454 Stramonium in Australia 349 Table 12.1 Summary of Important Medicinal and Old Herbs for New Drugs 355 Toxic Glycoalkaloids in Common Solanaceae 455 Table 8.1 Solanaceae herbs utilised as medicinal The Feral Devil’s Fig 458 plants or for drug production 355 The Blackberry Nightshades 462 A Modern Market 358 Table 12.2 Summary of the medicinal uses of Physostigmine: From Poison to Invaluable Medicine Solanum nigrum in different cultures 466 360 Neurological Influences 469 The Infamous ‘Ordeal Bean of Old Calabar’ 361 Anticancer Solanaceae 472 Discovery of a Miracle Drug 362 White Nightshade 474 Drugs for Memory and Warfare 364 Table 12.3 Traditional Chinese medicine anticancer preparations utilising Solanum nigrum 475 9 Pituri: A Mysterious Narcotic 369 A Curative Anticancer Cream 475 An Outback Drug Plant 372 More Medicinal Solanum 481 Pituri: Trade Across a Continent 373 Table 12.4 Research into additional medicinal uses of The Problem of Identification 374 the Solanum genus 482 The Poison Puzzle 375 Cestrum, Calcium and Vitamin D 487 Discovery of a Mydriatic and Intoxicant 383 Duboisine or Atropine: the Commercial Market 386 Resources 491 Alkaloid Conundrums 388 Index 541 A Native Drug for the War Effort 393 Foreword As botanists working in a national scientific research soon realised that there was far, far more to this subject institution, my colleagues and I receive many queries than I had imagined. from the general public. One of the most frequent areas Cheryll’s careful research and collation of this of enquiry relates to the uses of Australian plants by otherwise scattered information makes for authoritative humans, either for ornament, food or, more significantly, and entertaining reading. There is the danger that such their toxic or medicinal qualities. The last subject has works may lean too far towards a popular interpretation always been a difficult one to respond to, due to the and sacrifice accuracy for readability, or alternatively tend dearth of recent, reliable information. Information on towards overt and unnecessary detail. Medicinal Plants in the medicinal properties of Australian plants does exist, Australia is neither of these. The information presented is but it is widely scattered throughout the scientific and clear, concise and (most importantly) reliable, referenced popular literature and as such is not readily available. as it is to the large scientific literature on this subject and At least that was the case, until Cheryll Williams interpreted by someone who is an authority in the field. embarked upon her ambitious and impressive series, Through regular email exchanges, I also became Medicinal Plants in Australia. I first became aware aware of the enormous amount of effort required to of Cheryll and her work in 2008, when I received an see each subsequent volume through to fruition and I enquiry from her regarding scientific name changes in found myself keenly anticipating the arrival of each the Myrtaceae. Thankfully this is an area in which I new volume. However, in my case it was more a matter have some expertise (as opposed