''Lithospermum erythrorhizon'', commonly called purple gromwell, red stoneroot, red gromwell, red-root gromwell and redroot lithospermum, is a plant species in the family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the Borago, borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genus, genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single famil ...

. It is called ''zǐcǎo'' () in Chinese, ''jichi'' () in Korean, and ''murasaki'' (; ) in Japanese. The dried root of ''Lithospermum erythrorhizon'' (lithospermum root or ''Lithospermi Radix'') is a Chinese herbal medicine with various antiviral and biological activities, including inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The genome of ''Lithospermum erythrorhizon'' has been sequenced and has facilitated the discovery of a putative retrotransposition-derived duplication event that produced a 4-hydroxybenzoate geranyltransferase gene involved in alkannin biosynthesis.

Biochemistry

The enzyme 4-hydroxybenzoate geranyltransferase utilizes geranyl diphosphate and 4-hydroxybenzoate to produce 3-geranyl-4-hydroxybenzoate and diphosphate. Biosynthetically, alkannin is produced in plants from the intermediates 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and geranyl pyrophosphate. This enzyme is involved in shikonin biosynthesis. The enzyme geranylhydroquinone 3''-hydroxylase uses geranylhydroquinone, NADPH, H⁺ and O₂ to produce 3-hydroxygeranylhydroquinone, NADP⁺ and H₂O.

Uses

It has been cultivated in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

since the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

for its

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

, which can be used for herbal medicine and to make

dyes Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy (DyE song), Fantasy" from his first album ''Taki 183 (album), Taki 183''. This video became popular, attracting ...

. Before the introduction of synthetic dyes to

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Japan, the roots were commonly used as a dyestuff for luxury textiles, typically high-end kimono and . The process of extracting purple dyestuff from the roots was an exceedingly long, complex and time-consuming process, necessitating its relatively high expense: For a deep purple, up to 50 dips could be needed. dye loses colour remarkably fast, literally as the fibers are being dipped, meaning it was often used for ( ombré) dying, and the resulting colour was varied and uneven, with each strand a slightly different shade. One Japanese word for the plant, ''murasaki'' (紫), inspired the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

" Lady Murasaki" for the author of '' The Tale of Genji'' and is also the source of the general Japanese term for the color purple, ''murasaki iro'' (紫色). Additional terms were used for specific shades of purple within this range, particularly during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

; names such as ("pale purple") and ("light purple") formed important distinctions when dressing in specifically-layered clothing, and could also indicate (typically high) rank. The dyes made from its root also had other names, such as ''shikon'' (紫根), but all of them were difficult to work with because of their requirement for an

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

-rich mordant and the resulting colors' extreme vulnerability to photobleaching. During the

Heian Period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, sumptuary laws restricted ''murasaki''-dyed clothing to the Empress and her ladies in waiting.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15592453 erythrorhizon Flora of China Flora of Korea Flora of Japan Flora of Siberia Plants described in 1846 Taxa named by Philipp Franz von Siebold Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini

Biochemistry

Uses

See also

References

External links