Economical, Plain, and Rapid Authentication of Actaea racemosa L. (syn. Cimicifuga racemosa , Black Cohosh) Herbal Raw Material by Resilient RP-PDA-HPLC and Chemometric Analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 318-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Bittner ◽  
Regina Schenk ◽  
Andreas Springer ◽  
Matthias F. Melzig
Author(s):  
Murat Yalçın ◽  
Ayşenur Oğuz ◽  
Engin Emrem Beştepe ◽  
Nazife Gamze Usta Sağlam ◽  
Mine Ergelen

Black cohosh ( actaea racemosa, cimicifuga racemosa) a popular complementary medicine, is commonly prescribed as an alternative drug to hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of menopause symptoms and menstrual pain. Studies on the black cohosh’s psychological effects are generally focused on the perimenopausal depression and anxiety; and, its effects have been considered to be affiliated with its serotonergic and dopaminergic activities. We report a patient presenting with acute onset mania associated with black cohosh use, probably due to its psychopharmacological activities on serotonergic and dopaminergic receptors. We suggest that black cohosh must be used cautiously in the patients with history of unipolar depression or bipolar disorder.


HortScience ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Thomas ◽  
Richard J. Crawford ◽  
George E. Rottinghaus ◽  
John K. Tracy ◽  
Wendy L. Applequist ◽  
...  

Black cohosh [Actaea racemosa L.; Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nutt.] is a perennial herb native to North America that is commonly used for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. The plant is almost exclusively harvested from the wild and is being threatened by overharvesting in some regions. As demand for this plant continues to increase, the potential for profitable cultivation of this species is becoming realistic. Little is known about the effect of various cultivation practices, soils, environments, and harvest times on the multitude of phytochemicals that occur in black cohosh. Furthermore, although the rhizome is the organ that is traditionally consumed, other tissues also contain various quantities of important phytochemicals, but this has not been well documented. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to ascertain any environmental effects on the production of two representative phytochemicals (23-epi-26-deoxyactein and cimiracemoside A) and to elucidate any season-long patterns or variations in the production of these compounds within five black cohosh tissues (leaf, rachis, rhizome, root, and inflorescence). All black cohosh tissues contained 23-epi-26-deoxyactein with substantially more, as a percentage of dry weight, detected in inflorescence (28,582 to 41,354 mg·kg−1) and leaf (8250 to 16,799 mg·kg−1) compared with rhizome (2688 to 4094 mg·kg−1), and all tissues experienced a linear season-long decrease in occurrence of this compound. Cimiracemoside A was not detected in leaf tissues. The highest levels were found in rhizome (677 to 1138 mg·kg−1) and root (598 to 1281 mg·kg−1), which likewise experienced a significant season-long decrease in this compound, whereas levels in the rachis (0 to 462 mg·kg−1) increased over time. In general, environmental factors did not affect production of either compound. Varying seasonal patterns in phytochemical production, combined with differences in phytochemical content among plant tissues, point to the potential for more targeted horticultural production of these and other medicinal compounds within black cohosh.


2008 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl M Verbitski ◽  
Gerald T Gourdin ◽  
Larissa M Ikenouye ◽  
James D McChesney ◽  
Jana Hildreth

Abstract Actaea racemosa L. (black cohosh; syn. Cimicifuga racemosa L. Nutt.) is a native North American perennial whose root and rhizome preparations are commercially available as phytomedicines and dietary supplements, primarily for management of menopausal symptoms. Despite its wide use, methods that accurately identify processed A. racemosa are not well established; product adulteration remains a concern. Because of its similar appearance and growing locales, A. racemosa has been unintentionally mixed with other species of the genus, such as Actaea pachypoda Ell. (white cohosh) and more commonly Actaea podocarpa DC. (yellow cohosh). The genus Actaea also has 23 temperate species with numerous common names, which can also contribute to the misidentification of plant material. Consequently, a variety of Actaea spp. are common adulterants of commercially available black cohosh preparations. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and combined TLC-bioluminescence (Bioluminex) are efficient, economical, and effective techniques which provide characteristic patterns and toxicity profiles for each plant species. These data indicate that common black cohosh adulterants, such as yellow cohosh, can be differentiated from black cohosh by TLC and TLC-bioluminescence. This study also showed that unknown contaminants that were not detected using standard A. racemosa identity techniques were readily detected by TLC and TLC-bioluminescence.


HortScience ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe-Ann McCoy ◽  
Jeanine M. Davis ◽  
N. Dwight Camper ◽  
Ikhlas Khan ◽  
Avula Bharathi

Black cohosh [Actaea racemosa L. syn. Cimicifuga racemosa (L.) Nuttal] is a native North American medicinal plant traditionally harvested for its rhizomes and roots. Black cohosh products were listed in the top 10 selling herbal supplements from 2002 to 2005. As a result of increasing commercial demand, there is a need to develop propagation protocols suitable for production purposes to replace current methods of harvesting from wild populations. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine optimal rhizome propagule division size for successful regeneration, 2) analyze triterpene glycoside concentrations, 3) quantify survival rates after 3 years of production, and 4) evaluate net yield results. Experimental sites included a shade cloth structure in an agricultural research field, a shaded forest interior, and a shaded, disturbed forest edge. Plant emergence, growth, and survival were assessed at each site over a 3-year period. Optimal rhizome division size for propagation was a 10 to 30-g section originating from terminal rhizome portions. Rhizome survival averaged 97% among all treatments tested by year 3 at three sites. No differences in mean triterpene glycoside concentrations were detected between rhizome size classes or sites tested. Mean cimiracemoside concentrations ranged from 0.80 to 1.39 mg·g–1 d/w tissue, deoxyactein 0.47 to 0.92 mg·g–1, and actein 10.41 to 13.69 mg·g–1. No differences in triterpene levels were detected between flowering and nonflowering plants, nor were yields reduced. Net yields from a shade cloth production site were 9 and 17 times higher than a disturbed forest edge and forest site respectively. Black cohosh is a strong candidate for commercial propagation under adequate site selection.


HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Thomas ◽  
Richard J. Crawford ◽  
Larry J. Havermann ◽  
Wendy L. Applequist ◽  
Besa E. Schweitzer ◽  
...  

Black cohosh [Actaea racemosa L., Cimicifuga racemosa L. (Nutt)] is a perennial herb commonly used for treatment of menopausal symptoms in humans. The increasing demand for this plant is leading to serious over-harvesting from the wild and presents an opportunity for potentially profitable cultivation. The plant produces a large rhizome, the principal medicinal organ, which appears to be especially sensitive to heavy soil, and prone to fungal attack if soil water drainage is not adequate. After an earlier crop failure (attributed to a Phytophthora–Pythium disease complex) in an established black cohosh nursery bed, two experiments were conducted in the same soil to determine if certain horticultural approaches could help to avert fungal infection under less-than-ideal conditions. Treatments included single postplanting applications of the fungicide mefenoxam, transplantation in fall versus spring, and shallow (0.5 cm) versus deep (6.5 cm) placement of rhizomes. Shallow placement significantly improved long-term rhizome survival, but was still not able to compensate adequately for a poorly-drained soil. The horticultural approaches we studied do not appear to be reliable alternatives to proper site selection in the cultivation of black cohosh.


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