It consists of the peeled or unpeeled dried rhizomes and roots of various species of Glycyrrhiza belonging to the family Leguminosae. A number of different varieties are cultivated commercially:
Mayapple is an important American botanical drug with annual production in several hundred tones supplying both domestic and export demands. The US annual demand for American Podophyllum was more than 130 tonnes in 1970. The commercial interest turned to Indian Podophyllum when it was found to contain more podophyllotoxin than the American root. Indian Podophyllum…
American Podophyllum has long been used by native Americans as a vermifuge and emetic and the subsequently obtained resin was employed as a purgative. Its use however declined until 1942 when the resin was recommended for the treatment of veneral warts. Indian Podophyllum has been used in Ayurveda and Unani systems of medicine as purgative,…
The roots and rhizomes contain cytotoxic lignans and their glucosides with the Indian Podophyllum containing about 5% and American Podophyllum 1%. The active principles may be obtained in a concentrated form by pouring an ethanolic extract of the root into water. The precipitated podophyllum resin or ‘podophyllin’ is then dried. While Indian Podophyllum yields about…
Plants are collected from the wild. American Podophyllum has long-jointed branching rhizomes about 1 m long, which are dug up, cut into pieces about 10 cm long and dried. Indian Podophyllum bears little resemblance to the American one. Rhizomes occur in much contorted pieces of an earthy brown colour about 2–4 cm long, 1–2 cm…
Both plants are large-leafed perennial herbs with edible fruits, though other parts of the plant are toxic. The American Podophyllum also called mayapple root, devil’s apple, hog apple, wild or American Mandrake is extensively distributed through the Eastern United States growing luxuriantly in moist shady woods and in low marshy grounds from Canada to Minnesota…
Podophyllum is an endangered but high-value medicinal plant from temperate and cold climatic zones of the globe. It is a source of podophyllotoxin, a natural lignan with cytotoxic, anti-tumour properties. It is the prescursor for the semi-synthesis of the widely used anti-cancer drugs etoposide, teniposide and etopophos. It is also a precursor to a new…
This consists of the dried rhizomes and roots of Podophyllum hexandrum Royle and Podophyllum peltatum Linn. of the family Berberidaceae. P. hexandrum is found in India, China and the Himalayas and yields Indian Podophyllum, whilst P. pelatatum comes from North America and is the source of American Podophyllum.
Approximately 30,000 kg Taxus biomass (leaves, twigs, bark, needles and roots) is required to produce 1 kg of refined paclitaxel. An estimated 400 kg/year of paclitaxel products are marketed annually in North America and Europe with global amounts estimated at 800–1000 kg. Global demand for paclitaxel in 2004 was estimated at 400 kg/year. However while…
T. wallichiana is a multipurpose tree species valued as a source of timber, fuelwood, fodder, tea, traditional medicine and since the early 1990s, paclitaxel and other taxanes used in anti-cancer medications. For at least several centuries, the young shoots, leaves and bark of T. wallichiana have been used for their medicinal properties. In India extracts from bark and…