Keywords

FormalPara Vernaculars:

Urd.: Ghafis ; Ara. : Ghafith , Hashishatul-ghafis , Khafil , Shajaratul-baraghees , Shaukat-el-muntineh , Terfaq ; Chi.: Xian he cao ; Dut.: Gewone agrimonie ; Eng.: Agrimony , Church steeples , Cocklebur , Liverwort , Sticklewort ; Fre.: Agrimoine , Aigremoine eupatoire , Francormier , Gariot , Herbe de Saint Guillaume , Herbe de Sainte Madeleine , Soubeirette , Thé des bois , Thé du nord , Toute-bonne , Véteresque ; Ger.: Duft-odermennig , Gemeiner odermennig , Gewöhnlicher odermennig , Kleiner odermennig ; Ita.: Agrimonia, Agrimonia comune , Eupatoria ; Per.: Gul kalli , Khila ; Por.: Agrimónia , amoricos , Erva-agrimónia , Erva-eupatória , Erva-hepática , Eupatório-dos-gregos ; Spa.: Agrimonia, Agrimonia común , Algafil , Amores pequeños , Amoricos , Cabsidiella , Gafetí , Hierba bacera , Hierba de San Guillermo , Hierba del podador , Mermasangre , Serverola ; Tur.: Fıtıkotu .

FormalPara Description:

An herb which Dioscorides described as having inverted fruits, so rough and bristly that they adhere to clothes when ripe. Pliny mentioned the plant to be in royal patronage (Eupator Mithridates, king of Pontus).XL A perennial herb, common in grasslands throughout Europe, found in temperate Himalayas of India, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and widely distributed in Northern Hemisphere, United States and Canada. It grows to 30–60 cm high, vilous, reddish, the basal leaves are alternate, glabrous and pinnatified; segments oval-lanceolate, deeply dentate, irregular, underside villous white and without glands. Flowers (September–October) are small, yellow and star-shaped and grow at the top of the stem in a long terminal spike. The name Agrimonia may have its origin in the Greek ‘agremone’ which refers to plants that supposedly healed cataracts of the eye.XL However, GhaniL and KabeeruddinLXXVII described it as a thorny plant with broad hairy leaves with bright blue flowers, and a very bitter taste. Khory and KatrakLXXXI mentioned the stem ligneous, hairy and swarthy, and leaves indented at their edges, downy and swarthy; fruits as rough and bristly, generally inverted when ripe, and adhering to clothes (Figs. 1, 2 and 3).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Agrimonia eupatoria, Illustration, Kurt Stueber, WikimediaCommons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Agrimonia_eupatoria0.jpg

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Fig. 2
figure 2

Agrimonia eupatoria, Flowers, H. Zell, WikimediaCommons; ShareAlike 3.0 Unported CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agrimonia_eupatoria_002.JPG; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

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Fig. 3
figure 3

Agrimonia eupatoria, Fruits, Pethan, WikimediaCommons; ShareAlike 3.0 Unported CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agrimonia_eupatoria02.jpg, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

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FormalPara Actions and Uses:

Agrimony is a folk remedy for asthma, bronchitis, dermatitis, enterorrhagia, enuresis, gastrorrhagia, hematuria, hepatosis, metrorrhagia, neuralgia, neuritis, pharyngitis, rheumatism, tuberculosis and warts.XC Persian peasants use it to treat ringworm of the scalp in children.XL Aromatic, astringent, diuretic and taenicide,LXXXI,CV and used in dyspepsia and taken hot to induce perspiration in fever, and also used as an antiscorbutic. The seeds with wine are used in dysentary.LXXXI The herb is used by singers and speakers in gargles to clear and improve their voice,XC and is said to induce sleep if placed under one’s pillow.LV Hartwell [7] reported the herb to alleviate condylomata, sclerosis of the spleen and liver, tumors of the internal organs, mesenteric region, scrotum, and stomach, as well as corns and warts, and cancer of the breast, face, mouth and stomach. It is also described as cardiotonic, coagulant, depurative, litholytic, sedative, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary. Unani physicians describe aerial parts, especially flowers, (temperament, hot 2° and dry 2°) with demulcent, detergent, purgative of dried humours, vasodilator, blood purifier, deobstruent of liver and spleen, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactagogue, and stomachic properties; and use it for the treatment of liver, stomach and pancreatic inflammations, and chronic fevers.L,LXXVII The tonic effect of the herbal infusion is suggested to be due to high thiamine contents (2.36 μg/g) [5]. In Europe, it is widely used as a mild astringent, both externally and internally, for inflammation of the throat, gastroenteritis, and stomach flu. The extract is a constituent of stomach and bowel remedies and urological products. In Bulgarian phytomedicine, it is used for the treatment of respiratory, gastrointestinal and other inflammatory disorders [8], and the Anglo-Saxon medical texts from the 10th century mention the plant to treat bacterial infections and wounds [15].

FormalPara Phytoconstituents:

Fifty-two volatile components have been identified in the leaves and roots of the herb [5]. Zang and Chen [17] isolated nine compounds from the plant, apigenin-7-O-3-d-glucopyranoside, catechin, quercetin, rutin, kaempferol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside, Kampferol-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, lutcolin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranosidc, 19α,24-dihydroxy ursolic acid, and 3,3′-di-O-mcthyl ellagic acid 4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside with blood sugar lowering activity. Fresh herb contains a glucoside alkaloid, a nicotinic acid amide, traces of essential oil and organic acids, Vit. B, Vit. K, ascorbic acid, 1.5% triterpene and a derivative of α-amyrin. Fresh drug also contains agrimonolide, palmitic acid, stearic acid, ceryl alcohol and phytosterols.XC In methanol extract, eight phenolic substances, rutin, quercetin, elagic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid were identified; and a hydroalcohol extract showed high concentration of flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavones and phenolic acids [3]. In alcohol extract the free sugars are saccharose, glucose and fructose, and the bound sugars were identified as galactose, glucose and arabinose. Aqueous extract contained saccharose, glucose and fructose as free sugars and galactose, glucose, arabinose and rhamnose as bound sugars [1]. Aerial parts contain 4–10% condensed tannins, small amounts of ellagitannins and traces of gallotannins. Seeds contain 35% oil, which contain oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids.

FormalPara Pharmacology:

Administration of leaves decoction or dried leaves in diet did not affect food and water intake, body weight, plasma glucose and insulin levels in normal mice, but, the hyperglycemia and its associated polydipsia and body weight loss were reduced in diabetic mice [13]. Ethanol extract of aerial parts significantly protected rats from cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain [11]. The plant exhibited significant antioxidant activity [8], and radical scavenging properties [14]. Hydroalcohol extract and a polyphenol-enriched fraction that contains flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavones and phenolic acids, exhibited strong radical scavenger activity and potential antioxidant capacity against reactive species formed during inflammation [3]. The plant is reported to have diuretic and uricosuric activities [6], and the aqueous extract was protective against chronic ethanol consumption-induced hepatotoxicity in rats [16]. Hydroalcohol extract demonstrated strong growth inhibiting activity against H. pylori [4], and the aqueous extract of aerial parts showed maximum inhibition of HBsAg release against hepatitis B virus; plant collected in mid-July produced the strongest effect [10]. Antibacterial and radical scavenging activities have also been reported in n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of the seeds [2]. Methanol stems extract also significantly attenuated glutamate-induced oxidative stress in HT22 hippocampal cells [12].

FormalPara Clinical Studies:

One-month consumption of agrimony tea by healthy volunteers significantly elevated plasma total antioxidant capacity, and significantly lowered IL-6 levels at the end of the intervention, indicating its potential to improve markers of lipid metabolism, oxidative status and inflammation in healthy adults. Lipid profile showed improvement by increased HDL-C level and HDL-C correlation with adiponectin levels [9].

FormalPara Human A/Es, Allergy and Toxicity:

It is reported to produce photodermatitis.XXXVIII

FormalPara Animal Toxicity:

No animal toxicity studies are reported in the literature.

FormalPara Commentary:

It has shown significantly improving antioxidant status and HDL-C levels in healthy individuals but there are no studies in disease states, and some of the other recognized clinical effects.