Scrophularia sp. / Helmkruid

Helmkruid

Heb je speenkruidknolletjes voor mij? Ik kan me nog levendig herinneren, dat een wat oudere mevrouw mij jaren geleden die vraag stelde. Ik de tuin in en fier terug komen met die kleine witte knolletjes van het echt speenkruid, Ficaria verna, maar die moest mevrouw helemaal niet hebben. Het waren veel grotere bruine knollen die zij nodig had en toen besefte ik dat zij 'het groot Speencruydt' van Dodoens zocht, met de Nederlandse naam Helmkruid en de Latijnse naam Scrofularia nodosa.

Weer zo'n vreemde, vergeten plant. Helmkruid, Speenkruid. Scrophularia nodosa. Ooit gebruikt tegen scrofuleuze gezwellen en tegen andere uitstulpingen des lichaams, aambeien, lymfeklieren. Een typische vorm van signatuurleer, je kan aan het uiterlijk van de plant zien waar hij goed of slecht voor is. De wortels zijn knobbelig, en daaruit is dan ook de officiële naam 'nodosa', knopig ontstaan en mogelijk ook 'scrofuleus', klierachtig. De plant was een specifiek kruid voor het scrofuleuze type , mensen met aanleg voor opgezette lymfeklieren.

Dodonaeus over Helm cruyt

Ook Dodoens vermelde dezelfde werkingen. Die bladeren/ stelen/ saet/ wortelen/ en sap van dat oprecht Helm cruyt verteeren ende doen verdwijnen alderleye gheswel/ en herde clieren/ alsmense met eedick (azijn) menghelt/ ende daer twee daghen lauwachtich op gheleyt. Die bladeren ghestooten/ zijn goet gheleyt op vervuylde en voorts etende sweringhen ende tot den kanker met sout ghemenght en daer op gheleyt. Tsap van desen cruyde verdrijft die roose in daensicht alsmen dat daer mede wascht. Die wortel inghenomen verdroocht ende gheneest die speenen: Dijsghelijck doet zy oock ghestooten/ en van buyten daer op gheleyt.

Zeugwortel of Sint Anthoniusknollen

Hildegard von Bingen noemde de plant 'Sauwurz', Zeugwortel. In Nederland werden ze Sogewortel, of Zoeghewortel genoemd. De knollen zouden als voedsel voor varkens gebruikt zijn, vooral ook om klierziektes bij die beesten te genezen. Omdat Sint Antonius de patroon van de varkens was en is, werd Helmkruid ook wel Sint Antoniusknol genoemd.

Helmkruid

De Nederlandse naam helmkruid verwijst naar de kleine, bruine bloemen die de vorm van een pompiershelm zouden hebben. Andere oudere Nederlandse namen, zoals Speenkruid, verwijzen eerder naar de medicinale werking, naar zijn gebruik tegen aambeien. In sommige streken noemde men het zelfs aambeiwortel, net zoals in Frankrijk 'herbe aux hémorroïdes', alhoewel hier dezelfde vergissing ontstond als bij mij aan de voordeur. Herbe aux hémorroïdes is het echte speenkruid Ficaria verna.

In Nederland bij Brummen zou het rond 1929 nog verbouwd geweest zijn als medicijn tegen kanker. Vandaar de naam kankerbloem, alhoewel deze naam vooral ook aan de goudsbloem gegeven werd.

Dr. Leclerc

Dr. Leclerc en vele anderen schrijven het ook een bloedsuikerverlagende werking toe. Verder is er in Helmkruid ook de anti-inflammatoire stof harpagoside gevonden, waar Duivelsklauw (Harpagophytum) zijn werking bij artrose aan te danken heeft. Bijzonder is ook dat het flavonoïde diosmine voor het eerst en al in 1925 in deze plant gevonden werd en dat deze stof nu ook verwerkt wordt in preparaten voor het veneuze vaatstelsel, tegen spataderen en aambeien. Dus de kwalen waar juist Helmkruid in de volksgeneeskunde voor gebruikt word. Diosmine heeft net zoals harpagoside ook een ant-inflammatoire werking.

Toekomst voor Helmkruid

Ondanks dit alles wordt Knopig helmkruid ook nu nog weinig medicinaal gebruikt. Het lijkt me dan ook nuttig dat we deze plant wat beter gaan onderzoeken. Het is mogelijk dat Scrofularia nodosa

voor het veneuze vaatstelsel versterkend is,

bij ouderdomsdiabetes gebruikt kan worden en

als anti-inflammatoir middel bij reumatische klachten zijn diensten zou kunnen bewijzen.

Namen

Knopig helmkruid, aambeiwortel, klierkruid, groot speenkruid, dominee op de kansel (bloemetje in de vorm van een kansel, meeldraadje als dominee)

Namen bij Dodonaeus: Galeopsis, Urtica labeo (Scrofularia maior, Castrangula, Ficaria), ierste (oprecht) Helm cruyt (groot Speen cruyt), in Grieks Galeopsis, Galeobdolon, en in Latijn Urtica labeo. In der Apoteken Scrofularia maior, en van sommighen Castrangula en Ficaria. In Hoochduytsch Braunwurtz/ Sauwurtz/ en grosz Feigwartzen kraut. In Neerduytsch groot Speen cruyt. In Franchois Scrophulaire.

Engels: Figwort, Knotted Figwort, Throatwort, Carpenter’s Square, Kernelwort

Frans: grande scrofulaire, herbe aux écrouelles, herbe du siège

Duits: Knotige Braunwurz, Braunwurz, Echte Braunwurz, Feigwurzel, Knotenbraunwurz, Knotenwurz, Nachtgewächs, Skrofel

Voor verdere studie

Dr Leclerc. Précis de phytothérapie. 1954.

Diosmin.(Monograph) Alternative Medicine Review | September 1, 2004 |

Sesterhenn K, Distl M, Wink M. Occurrence of iridoid glycosides in in vitro cultures and intact plants of Scrophularia nodosa L. Plant Cell Rep 2006 Sep 14.

Stevenson PC, Simmonds MS, Sampson J, et al. Wound healing activity of acylated iridoid glycosides from Scrophularia nodosa. Phytother Res 2002 Feb; 16(1):33-5.

Miyase T, Mimatsu A . Acylated iridoid and phenylethanoid glycosides from the aerial parts of Scrophularia nodosa. J Nat Prod 1999 Aug; 62(8):1079-84.

Eur J Pharmacol. 2000 Feb 18;389(2-3):243-52. Anti-inflammatory glycoterpenoids from Scrophularia auriculata.

Giner RM1, Villalba ML, Recio MC, Máñez S, Cerdá-Nicolás M, Ríos J.

The activity of the four glycoterpenoids: two saponins, verbascosaponin A and verbascosaponin, and two iridoids, scropolioside A and scrovalentinoside, isolated from Scrophularia auriculata ssp. pseudoauriculata, were studied in different models of acute and chronic inflammation. Both saponins significantly inhibited the mouse paw edema induced by carrageenan and ear edema induced by single and multiple doses of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). Verbascosaponin A showed a potency twice as high as that of indomethacin in the acute TPA model. Verbascosaponin A and scropolioside A were active after a long latency period against ethyl phenylpropiolate edema, as are glucocorticoids. When the putative corticoid-like mechanism of the two compounds was studied, verbascosaponin A activity was notably reduced by the mRNA synthesis inhibitor, actinomycin D, while the effect of scropolioside A was partially interfered with by the anti-glucocorticoid drugs used. Both iridoids were active on the delayed type hypersensitivity reaction. They significantly reduced the inflammatory lesion and suppressed the cellular infiltration.

Phytother Res. 2002 Feb;16(1):33-5. Wound healing activity of acylated iridoid glycosides from Scrophularia nodosa.

Stevenson PC1, Simmonds MS, Sampson J, Houghton PJ, Grice P.

Three acylated iridoid glycosides (E)-6-O-(2", 4"-diacetyl-3" -O-p-methoxycinnamoyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl catalpol (scopolioside A) (1), (E)-6-O-(2"-acetyl-3", 4"-di-O,O-p-methoxycinnamoyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl catalpol (scrophuloside A(4)) (2) and (E)-6-O-(2",3"-diacetyl-4"-O-p-methoxycinnamoyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl catalpol (scrovalentinoside) (3) have been isolated from the dried seed pods of Scrophularia nodosa by HPLC. Their structures were determined by 1D and 2D NMR, UV/Vis and mass spectroscopy and by comparison with published data. All three compounds were shown in vitro to stimulate the growth of human dermal fibroblasts. The effect was negatively dose-dependent for 2 and 3 for which fibroblast growth stimulation was highest at 0.78 microg/mL but was not significantly different from the control at 100 microg/mL. The presence of these compounds in the mature seed pods may explain the ethnobotanical use of this plant in Europe for healing wounds.

Int J Oncol. 2012 Jun;40(6):2063-74. doi: 10.3892/ijo.2012.1388. Effects of Scrophularia extracts on tumor cell proliferation, death and intravasation through lymphoendothelial cell barriers.

Giessrigl B1, Yazici G, Teichmann M, Kopf S, Ghassemi S, Atanasov AG, Dirsch VM, Grusch M, Jäger W, Ozmen A, Krupitza G.

Different studies describe the anti-inflammatory effects of Scrophularia species, a medicinal plant widely used in folk medicine since ancient times. As knowledge regarding the anti-neoplastic properties of this species is rather limited, we investigated the influence of methanol extracts of different Scrophularia species on cell proliferation, cell death, and tumour cell intravasation through the lymph endothelial barrier. HL-60 leukaemia cells were treated with methanol extracts of different Scrophularia species leading to strong growth inhibition and high cell death rates. The expression of cell cycle regulators, oncogenes and cell death inducers was determined by Western blot analysis. Furthermore the effect of S. lucida was studied in an NF-κB reporter assay, and in a novel assay measuring 'circular chemo-repellent-induced defects' (CCID) in lymph endothelial monolayers that were induced by MCF-7 breast cancer spheroids. Methanol extracts of Scrophularia species exhibited strong anti-proliferative properties. S. floribunda extract inhibited G2/M- and later on S-phase and S. lucida inhibited S-phase and in both cases this was associated with the down-regulation of c-Myc expression. Extracts of S. floribunda and S. lucida led to necrosis and apoptosis, respectively. Furthermore, S. lucida, but not S. floribunda, effectively attenuated tumour cell intravasation through lymph endothelial cell monolayers, which correlated with the inhibition of NF-κB. S. lucida exhibited promising anti-neoplastic effects and this was most likely due to the down-regulation of various cell cycle regulators, proto-oncogenes and NF-κB and the activation of caspase-3.

Pak J Pharm Sci. 2012 Jan;25(1):267-75. Spasmolytic effects of Scrophularia nodosa extract on isolated rabbit intestine.

Ahmad M1, Muhammad N, Mehjabeen, Jahan N, Ahmad M, Obaidullah, Qureshi M, Jan SU.

Scrophularia nodosa (figwort), an indigenous medicinal plant grows in moist and cultivated waste ground. It contains saponins, cardioactive glycosides, flavonoids, resin, sugar and organic acids. It is traditionally used for anti-inflammatory purpose and in skin disorders. It has diuretic and cardiac stimulant properties. The present studies were carried out on crude extract of Scrophularia nodosa and its n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and aqueous fractions. During phytochemical studies seven known compounds of flavonoid nature were isolated from the chloroform fraction of crude extract of S. nodosa. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic (UV, IR, Mass (EIMS, HREIMS) and NMR ((1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, DEPT, and (1)H-(1)H, COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOESY) techniques. Compound 1 was identified as 5, 4`-hydroxy-3, 6, 7-trimethoxyflavone, compound 2 as 5-hydroxy-3,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, compound 3 as Centaurein, compound 4 as 5-hydroxy-7,8,2',3',4'-pentamethoxyflavone (Serpyllin), compound 5 as Kaempferol 7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside, compound 6 as sakuranetin 4'-O (6''-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (Vitexoside) and compound 7 as Spinoside. Crude extract and its fractions were tested on isolated rabbit intestine (in vitro) for their effects. The results of crude extract and its fractions in different doses showed the decrease in normal movement of the smooth muscles of rabbit intestine (jejunum). The chloroform fraction showed maximum relaxant effect (77.37%) at 15mg/ml dose and aqueous fraction showed 38.56% spasmogenic response which was not present in the crude extract. Further study was carried out on different fractions to investigate the possible mechanism of action of S. nodosa extract. For this purpose spasmolytic effect of different fractions were compared with agonist and antagonist activities of standard drugs including adrenaline, atropine andacetylcholine (1x10(-2), 1x10(-4) and 10(-6) M conc.). It is concluded that the chemical constituents present in S. nodosa having spasmolytic action are possibly acting through muscarinic receptors.

Scrophularia nodosa: Use(s) or Purpose(s)Statement(s) to the effect of:

Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as a diuretic (Hoffmann 2003, Felter and Lloyd 1983[1898], Wren 1907)

Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as an analgesic (anodyne) (Bartram 1998, Felter and Lloyd 1983[1898], Wren 1907)

Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to relieve symptoms of chronic cutaneous diseases (Hoffmann 2003,Wren 1907)

Traditonally used in Herbal Medicine to relieve symptoms of eczema (Hoffmann 2003, BHP 1983)

Traditonally used in Herbal Medicine to relieve symptoms of psoriasis (Hoffmann 2003, BHP 1983)

Traditonally used in Herbal Medicine to relieve symptoms of pruritus (Hoffmann 2003, BHP 1983)

Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as a mild laxative (Hoffmann 2003, Williamson et al. 1988, Mills 1985)

Dose(s)

Adults:Preparation: Dry, Powder, Decoction & Infusion + All Non-Standardised Extracts

Dose(s): 0.2 - 8 Grams per day, dried herb tops

(Hoffmann 2003, Bartram 1998, BHP 1983, Felter and Lloyd 1983[1898])

SCROFULOSA NODOSA FOR HOMOEOPATHIC PREPARATIONS French Pharmacopoeia 2007

Scrophularia nodosa ad praeparationes homoeopathicas

DEFINITION

Whole, fresh, flowering plant, Scrophularia nodosa L.

CHARACTERS

Macroscopic and microscopic characters described under identification tests A and B.

IDENTIFICATION

A. Herbaceous plant, glabrous, perennial thanks to a thick bulging rhizome, knotty, short and

compact, sprouting numerous adventive roots. Erect stem, stiff, quadrangular, measuring up to

150 cm high, brownish-red with a full section. Stalked, opposite leaves, dark green, triangular,

cordiform at the base, pointed at the apex, with irregularly toothed margins. Flowers with a long

peduncle, in terminal, glandular panicle. Calyx with 5 somewhat equal divisions, rimmed with a

narrow membranous margin. Corolla 6-10 cm long, clearly zygomorphic, with a large bellied tube

with 2 lips; to brown upper lip, bilobed with a small inside scale and greenish and trilobed lower

lip. Four didydanous stamens. Ovary producing an ovoid capsule with an apicule, on maturity.

B. Examine a fragment of abaxial epidermis of a leaf, under a microscope using chloral hydrate

solution R: lamina epidermis covered with a cuticle finely striated, composed of cells with walls

lobed as a puzzle and anomocytic stomata (2.8.3), surrounded by 3-5 cells; epidermis of the ribs

with striated cuticle composed of elongated cells, rectangular to parallelipipedic and glandular

trichomes with unicellular foot and bi to tetra cellular head.

TESTS

Foreign matter (2.8.2): maximum 5 per cent.

Loss on drying (2.2.32): minimum 65.0 per cent, determined on 5.0 g of finely-cut drug, by drying

in an oven at 105 °C for 2 h.

Scrophularia aquatica. The presence of a hollow stem and leaves with winged petioles shows

adulteration by Scrophularia aquatica L.

DEFINITION

Common figwort mother tincture complies with the requirements of the general technique for the

preparation of mother tinctures (see Homoeopathic Preparations (1038) and French

Pharmacopoeia Supplement). The mother tincture is prepared with ethanol (65 per cent V/V), using

the whole, fresh, flowering plant, Scrophularia nodosa L.

Content: minimum 0.03 per cent m/m of harpagoside (C24H30O11 ; Mr 494.5).