Psychotria ipecacuanha
Encyclopedia
Carapichea ipecacuanha is a species
of flowering plant
in the Rubiaceae
family
. Its common name, Ipecacuanha, is derived from the Tupi i-pe-kaa-guéne, which translates to "road-side sick-making plant". The plant has been discussed under a variety of synonyms over the years by various botanists
. The roots are used to make syrup of ipecac
, a powerful emetic
.
The part of ipecacuanha used in medicine is the root, which is simple or divided into a few branches, flexuous, and is composed of rings of various size, somewhat fleshy when fresh, and appearing as if closely strung on a central woody cord. The different kinds known in commerce (gray, red, brown) are all produced by the same plant, the differences arising from the age of the plant, the mode of drying, etc. Various other plants are used as substitutes for it.
Ipecacuanha contains the pseudo-tannin
ipecacuanhic acid or cephaëlic acid.
, an English botanist, herbalist, and physician, compared Ipecacuanha to the herb Orach in his book, Complete Herbal & English Physician, published in 1653. One of the first recorded shipments of Ipecacuanha to Europe
was in 1672, by a traveler named Legros. Legros imported some quantity of the root to Paris from South America
. In 1680, a Parisian merchant named Garnier possessed some 68 kilograms (150 pounds) of the substance and informed the physician Claude Adrien Helvétius
of its power in the treatment of dysentery
. Helvetius was granted sole right to vend the remedy by Louis XIV
, but sold the secret to the French government, who made the formula public in 1688.
Ipecacuanha has a long history of use as an emetic, for emptying the stomach in cases of poison
ing. It has also been used as a nauseant
, expectorant, and diaphoretic, and was prescribed for conditions such as bronchitis
. The most common and familiar preparation is syrup of ipecac
, which was commonly recommended as an emergency treatment for accidental poisoning until the final years of the 20th century. Ipecacuanha was also traditionally used to induce sweating. A common preparation for this purpose was Dover's powder
.
Ipecacuanha has been used since the 18th century as a major remedy within homeopathic medicine, where it is employed for a wide range of conditions, in varying dosages.
In the 19th Century, women prisoners at the Cascades Female Factory, Tasmania, were routinely given "a grain or so of ipecacuanha" as a precaution, especially "upon ladies with gross health and fiery temperaments" (Daniels 129).
but it has been cultivated in India
and elsewhere.
The following plants have been used as substitutes for ipecacuanha.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the Rubiaceae
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. Its common name, Ipecacuanha, is derived from the Tupi i-pe-kaa-guéne, which translates to "road-side sick-making plant". The plant has been discussed under a variety of synonyms over the years by various botanists
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
. The roots are used to make syrup of ipecac
Syrup of ipecac
Syrup of ipecac , commonly referred to as ipecac, is derived from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant, and is a well known emetic .-Preparation:...
, a powerful emetic
Vomiting
Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose...
.
The part of ipecacuanha used in medicine is the root, which is simple or divided into a few branches, flexuous, and is composed of rings of various size, somewhat fleshy when fresh, and appearing as if closely strung on a central woody cord. The different kinds known in commerce (gray, red, brown) are all produced by the same plant, the differences arising from the age of the plant, the mode of drying, etc. Various other plants are used as substitutes for it.
Ipecacuanha contains the pseudo-tannin
Tannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
ipecacuanhic acid or cephaëlic acid.
History
Ipecacuanha was known to Europe by the mid 17th century. Nicholas CulpeperNicholas Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books include The English Physician and the Complete Herbal , which contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick ,...
, an English botanist, herbalist, and physician, compared Ipecacuanha to the herb Orach in his book, Complete Herbal & English Physician, published in 1653. One of the first recorded shipments of Ipecacuanha to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was in 1672, by a traveler named Legros. Legros imported some quantity of the root to Paris from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. In 1680, a Parisian merchant named Garnier possessed some 68 kilograms (150 pounds) of the substance and informed the physician Claude Adrien Helvétius
Claude Adrien Helvétius
Claude Adrien Helvétius was a French philosopher and littérateur.-Life:...
of its power in the treatment of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. Helvetius was granted sole right to vend the remedy by Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, but sold the secret to the French government, who made the formula public in 1688.
Ipecacuanha has a long history of use as an emetic, for emptying the stomach in cases of poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ing. It has also been used as a nauseant
Nauseant
A nauseant is a substance or an agent that is used to generate the tendency to vomit. Tobacco and egg white are nauseous to children, and produce sickness at the stomach. Nauseants are akin to direct emetics....
, expectorant, and diaphoretic, and was prescribed for conditions such as bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
. The most common and familiar preparation is syrup of ipecac
Syrup of ipecac
Syrup of ipecac , commonly referred to as ipecac, is derived from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant, and is a well known emetic .-Preparation:...
, which was commonly recommended as an emergency treatment for accidental poisoning until the final years of the 20th century. Ipecacuanha was also traditionally used to induce sweating. A common preparation for this purpose was Dover's powder
Dover's powder
Dover's powder was a traditional medicine against cold and fever. It is no longer in use in modern medicine, but may have been in use at least through the 1960s.A 1958 source describes Dover's Powder as follows:...
.
Ipecacuanha has been used since the 18th century as a major remedy within homeopathic medicine, where it is employed for a wide range of conditions, in varying dosages.
In the 19th Century, women prisoners at the Cascades Female Factory, Tasmania, were routinely given "a grain or so of ipecacuanha" as a precaution, especially "upon ladies with gross health and fiery temperaments" (Daniels 129).
Similar plants
Ipecacuanha is a slow-growing plant, which reduces its commercial appeal as a crop plant. It is seldom cultivated in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
but it has been cultivated in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and elsewhere.
The following plants have been used as substitutes for ipecacuanha.
- Euphorbia ipecacuanhae, wild ipecacuanha from North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
- Sarcostemma glaucum, a VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n plant of the ApocynaceaeApocynaceaeThe Apocynaceae or dogbane family is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, and lianas.Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, and most are from the tropics and subtropics, but some grow in tropical dry, xeric environments. There are also perennial herbs...
family - Tylophora asthmatica, in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- Gillenia stipulataGillenia stipulataGillenia stipulata is a plant in the genus Gillenia, in the Rosaceae....
, American ipecac - Richardsonia pilosa, Richardsonia rosea, Psychotria emetica and various species of Ionidium have been used too
Appearances in popular culture
- Ipecacuanha was the name of the ship that initially rescued the character Edward Prendick in the novelNovelA novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Island of Doctor MoreauThe Island of Doctor MoreauThe Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. It is told from the point of view of a man named Edward Prendick who is shipwrecked, rescued by a passing boat, and then left at the ship's destination by the crew along with the ship's cargo of exotic animals...
written by H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. The ship he had been on, the Lady Vain, collided with rocks, and he was left to float in a dinghy until he was rescued eight days later. - Lord Peter Wimsey's sister takes ipecacuanha to appear sick in the Dorothy Sayers mystery novel Clouds of Witness, 1926.
- Guybrush ThreepwoodGuybrush ThreepwoodGuybrush Ulysses Threepwood is the main character of the Monkey Island series of computer adventure games by LucasArts. The voice of Guybrush is actor Dominic Armato in the third, fourth and fifth games, as well as the enhanced remakes of The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's...
used Ipecacuanha syrup (made by combining a flower from the Ipecacuanha with maple syrupMaple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
) in order to escape from the giant snake that swallowed him in Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey IslandThe Curse of Monkey IslandThe Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
video game. - Ipecac RecordingsIpecac RecordingsIpecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
, http://www.ipecac.com is an independent music label which aims to "purge you of the drek that's been rotting in your tummies". - The rake Lovelace takes ipecacuanha to feign illness and trick the titular character into caring for him in the novel, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady, an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748