''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the buttercup family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are '' Ranunculus'' (600 species), '' Delphiniu ...

. It is found in dry

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artif ...

s and

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslan ...

s in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

. More specifically, this plant grows in a wide range of locations which include open forests, forest clearings, dry meadows, mesic steppe, and mostly calcareous soil. Isolated populations are found from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

in the west across

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...

with fine examples in

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

, Switzerland, and

southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

, reaching southern Sweden in the north and

Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...

in the south, with its main area of distribution being the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...

and the West Siberian Plain. In contrast to most other European ''Adonis'' species, the flowers appear in springtime, and are up to in diameter, with up to 20 bright yellow

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s. Not only do the flowers begin to grow, but so do the plants aerial organs, from around April to May. The plant is poisonous, containing cardiostimulant compounds, such as adonidin and aconitic acid. Infusions of the plant are used in the medicine

Bekhterev's mixture Bekhterev’s mixture (russian: Микстура Бехтерева, MixturaBechtereva) is a medicine with a sedative effect, affecting the central nervous system. The mixture was proposed by Russian neurologist Vladimir Bekhterev as a treatment fo ...

. It is often used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

Traditional uses

Due to the cardiac-enhancing effects of ''Adonis'' species (including ''Adonis vernalis''), this plant has a history of use in European and Chinese folk medicineShang, Xiaofei; Maio, Xiaolou; Yang, Feng; Wang, Chunmei; Li, Bing; Wang, Weiwei; Pan, Hu; Guo, Xiao; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Jiyu (4 February 2019). "The Genus Adonis as an Important Cardiac Folk Medicine: A Review of the Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology". Frontiers in Pharmacology. 10: 25. doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.00025. to treat various health problems. It has been used in the Soviet Union to treat edema or swelling and as an alternative cardiac agent. In 1879, a Russian medical doctor, N. O. Buhnow, first introduced into medicine alcoholic extracts of the plant as a cardiac stimulant.Shikov, Alexander N.; Pozharitskaya, Olga N.; Makarov, Valery G.; Wagner, Hildebert; Verpoorte, Rob; Heinrich, Michael (3 July 2014). "Medicinal Plants of the Russian Pharmacopoeia; their history and applications". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 153 (3): 481–536. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.007 In 1898, a mixture of the plant extracts with sodium bromide or codeine was suggested (by Vladimir Bekherev) to treat heart diseases, panic disorder, dystonia and mild forms of epilepsy. Aqueous infusions of the aerial parts of the plant have been traditionally used in Siberia against edema, cardiac edema and several other issues that are heart related, kidney diseases, and even malaria. The biological activity of this extract was defined as 50–66 frog units (amount or liquid of substance that causes the arrest of the heart of a frog) and 6.3–8.0 cat units (amount or liquid of substance that causes the arrest of the heart of a cat) and large enough doses can be toxic.

Phytochemicals

There are many phytochemicals that come from the plant ''Adonis vernalis'' including cardiac glycosides such as

cymarin Cymarin (or cymarine) is a cardiac glycoside. Plants of the genus '' Apocynum'', including '' Apocynum cannabinum'' and ''Apocynum venetum'', contain cymarin. Cymarin is a cardiac glycoside and an anti-arrhythmia and cardiotonic A cardiac stimu ...

and digitoxigenin and flavones including orientin, luteolin, and vitexin.

Medicinal uses

''Adonis vernalis'' contains cardiac glycosides that improve the cardiac efficiency by increasing its output and reducing heart rate.Rouhi, Hossein Reza; Aboutalebian, Mohammad Ali; Saman, Maryam; Karimi, Fatemeh; Champiri, Roya Mahmoudieh (2013). "SEED GERMINATION AND DORMANCY BREAKING METHODS FOR PHEASANT'S EYE (Adonis vernalis L.)"(PDF). International Journal of Agriculture: Research and Review. 3 (1): 172–175 These glycosides also have a sedative effect and are often prescribed to patients whose hearts are beating irregularly or at an increased rate. Tinctures of ''Adonis vernalis'' are also used by homeopathic physicians in patients that are suffering from congestive cardiac failure and its action is very similar to digitalis (another drug that stimulates the heart muscle).Esmail, Al-Snafi Ali (2015). "THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: A REVIEW OF PLANTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS (PART 1)". International Journal of Pharmacology & Toxicology. 5 (3): 163–176. Retrieved 22 April 2020. Aqueous extracts of ''Adonis vernalis'' were found to have cardiac stimulant effects on isolated heart preparations and it also showed that production of excessive and high potassium concentrations protects against heart failure. The plant also contains some flavones with pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuro and cardioprotective, and anti-allergic properties.

References

External links

Adonis vernalis in Topwalks
vernalis Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{ranunculales-stub

Traditional uses

Phytochemicals

Medicinal uses

See also

References

External links