''Cullen corylifolium'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Psoralea corylifolia'', (babchi) is a plant used in Indian and Chinese

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

. The seeds of this plant contain a variety of

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

s, including

psoralen Psoralen (also called psoralene) is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the linear furanocoumarins. It is structurally related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered a ...

. Used as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...

, ''Cullen corylifolium'' is of no clinical benefit and can cause potentially fatal

herb-induced liver injury Herb-induced liver injury (HILI) is a form of drug-induced liver injury caused by herbal medicines, typically herbal supplements or herb-based ethnomedicines. Prevalence Herbs are a common component of ethnomedicines and their potential hepato ...

Etymology

''Corylifolium'' comes from similarity of the leaves to those of ''

Corylus Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, ...

'', a genus of tree in northern world regions, such as

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Description

''Cullen corylifolium'' grows 50–90 cm tall and is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...

. It has pale-purple flowers in short, condensed, axillary spikes. Its corolla is pale purple. Flowers one-seeded fruits. The most distinctive feature is the occurrence of minute brown glands which are immersed in surface tissue on all parts of the plant, giving it a distinctive and pleasant fragrance.

Habitat and distribution

''Cullen corylifolium'' is native to north-east

tropical Africa The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

, the southern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, and tropical and subtropical Asia, including

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It was occasionally cultivated in Arabia for its supposed medicinal properties.

Chemical constituents

''Cullen corylifolium'' extract contains numerous

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s, including

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

s ( neobavaisoflavone, isobavachalcone, bavachalcone, bavachinin, bavachin, corylin, corylifol, corylifolin and 6-prenylnaringenin), coumarins (

psoralidin Psoralidin is a natural phenolic compound found in the seeds of ''Psoralea corylifolia''. Chemical synthesis Psoralidin production starts with a based catalyzed condensation between phenyl acetate and acid chloride. To form the ring of psoral ...

, isopsoralen and

angelicin Angelicin is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the angular furanocoumarins. Structurally, it can be considered as benzapyra-2-one fused with a furan moiety in the 7,8-position. Angelicin is commonly ...

meroterpene A meroterpene (or meroterpenoid) is a chemical compound having a partial terpenoid structure. Examples Terpenophenolics Terpenophenolics are compounds that are part terpenes, part natural phenols. Plants in the genus ''Humulus'' and ''Cannabi ...

s (

bakuchiol Bakuchiol is a meroterpenoid (a chemical compound having a partial terpenoid structure) in the class terpenophenol. It was first isolated in 1966 by Mehta et al. from ''Psoralea corylifolia'' seed and was called Bakuchiol based on the Sanskrit na ...

, and 3-hydroxybakuchiol).

Use in traditional medicine

''Cullen corylifolium'' (''bu gu zhi'' 补骨脂 in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

)Cheng, Xia (2001). ''Easy Comprehension of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Chinese Materia Medica'', Canadian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, p343. is an herb intended as a therapy for several disorders, such as attempted treatment of

lichen planus Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disease that affects the skin, nails, hair, and mucous membranes. It is not an actual lichen, but is named for its appearance. It is characterized by polygonal, flat-topped, violaceous p ...

by psoralen

extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...

combined with sunlight exposure. Mostly as an oral formulation, it is also used in

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

to treat skin disorders, such as

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small localized patches to complete b ...

vitiligo Vitiligo (, ) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes patches of skin to lose pigment or color. The cause of vitiligo is unknown, but it may be related to immune system changes, genetic factors, stress, or sun exposure, and susceptibili ...

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. There is no good clinical evidence that ''Cullen corylifolium'' supplements are effective as a therapy for any disorder. Rather, supplements of ''Cullen corylifolium'' are

hepatotoxic Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdr ...

from its constituent chemicals causing

cholestatic hepatitis Cholestasis is a condition where the flow of bile from the liver to the duodenum is impaired. The two basic distinctions are: * obstructive type of cholestasis, where there is a mechanical blockage in the duct system that can occur from a gallston ...

. People with liver problems or certain other

comorbidities In medicine, comorbidity refers to the simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions in a patient; often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary condition. It originates from the Latin term (meaning "sickness" ...

are at risk of death from using ''Cullen corylifolium'' supplements.

References

Psoraleeae Tumbleweeds Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Faboideae-stub