kandira :

Ranunculus sceleratus known by the common names celery-leaved buttercup, celery-leaf buttercup, and cursed buttercup is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, native to temperate and boreal North America and Eurasia, where it grows in wet and moist habitats, including ponds and streambanks.

Taxonomical Classification

Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Streptophyta
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species: Ranunculus sceleratus

Allied species:

Kidney-leaf Buttercup, R. abortivus; Swamp Buttercup, R. hispidus; Tall Buttercup, R. acris; Hooked Crowfoot, R. recurvatus

VERNACULAR NAMES

Sanskrit: Kandakatuka, Kandira, नससंवेदना Nasasamvedana
English: Cursed Buttercup, Poisonous buttercup, Celery-leaved buttercup, Blister buttercup
Hindi: Shim, Aglaon, जलधनिया Jaldhaniya
Urdu: Kabikaj
Marathi: khajakollathi, Kulagi
Tamil: Kandhiram
Malayalam: Kandhiram
Kannada: Kandhira
Arabic: زغلنته (زَغَلَنته)
Spanish: Apio sardonico
Japanese: Tagarashi
Chinese: Shi Long Rui, Simplified Chinese: 石龙芮, 清香草, 水堇, 胡椒菜彭根)
French: Renoncule scélérate, Renoncule à feuilles de Cèleri
German: Gift- Hahnenfuss
Nepal: नाककोरे Nakkore •

Varities:

Buttercups comprise about 275 different species.

. Two varieties exist, R. sceleratus var. multifidus.

Definition

The generic name Ranunculus, is from two Latin words, rana meaning frog and unculus meaning little and together they refer to a group of plants, many of which grow in moist places - like little frogs. The species, sceleratus, is Latin for cursed and probably was used to describe this species as it is one of the most dangerous of the genus. See below. Celery-leaf comes from the shape of the lower leaves. The family name of Buttercup,, used to be

Synonyms

Synonyms in Ayurveda: kandira, kandir, kandakatuka, ugrakanda, katilla, nasalivedan

Ugra gandha- strong smell

Sceleratus translates as vicious as the sap in this plant can cause great discomfort and blistering to human skin. It can also be extremely toxic to livestock.

Rasa: Katu Tikta
Guna: Laghu Ruksha Teeskhsna
Veerya: Ushna
Vipaka: Katu
Karma: Kaphahara Vatahara

The whole plant has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, sedative and expectorant properties and it is recommended against skin diseases such as eczema, herpes, pruritus, burns and swellings. Also, it is administered for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, arthritis, ulcers and rhinitis.

Cultivation:

A plant of boggy soils and shallow water, it prefers a loamy soil and a sunny position.

A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes

Propogation:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. This plant is unlikely to need much assistance.

Division in spring.

Harvesting:

Flowering time: June–September.

Phytochemistry:

containing 5-hydroxy tryptamine 21, apigenin , apigenin 4′-O-α-rhamnopyranoside, apigenin 7-O-β-glucopyranosyl-4′-O-α-rhamnopyranoside, tricin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside, isoscopoletin , tricin , Protocatechuyl aldehyde22, Protoanemonin

PHARMACOLOGY:

Important formulations

1. Kanchanara guggulu

Parts used for medicinal purpose

Whole plant, ,

Dosage:

Powder 125 mg- 250 mg

Controversy:

Gandira: (Warrier et al. (1994) alone gives two plants (whole plants as being used) as substitutes for each other, the principal being Cayratia carnosa and C. pedata. Another plant Kandira has been mentioned by Bapalal (1983) which he attributes doubtfully to Ranunculus sceleratus (not in Tamil Nadu).

Commercial value:

Ranunculus sceleratus L. has been used to raise blisters and as counter-irritant since time immemorial. In China, Ranunculus sceleratus L. is used to treat colds, arthritis and rheumatisms and to invigorate health. In Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, the seeds are eaten to promote appetite and digestion, treat kidney diseases and heal abscesses

Morphology:

Cursed Crowfoot is a native erect annual or short-lived perennial, growing on stout, hollow, smooth stems to 20 inches high, with branching near the top and rooting at the base of the stem. Two varieties exist, photos below are of R. sceleratus var. multifidus.

The leaves are both basal and stem, both similar in shape but the upper leaves much smaller. Leaves are kidney shaped with 3 to 5 palmate lobes, ranging from shallow to deep on the basal leaves. The margins of the lobes have large blunt teeth or secondary lobes. Basal leaves and stem leaves are stalked, with the stem leaves, being alternate, and having more slender lobes, whereas smaller leaves are on the flowering stems and are usually sessile with just 3 linear lobes. All leaves are smooth, green and fleshy.

Inflorescence: Flowers are usually solitary and stalked at the tip of stems.

The flowers are 5-parted, about 1/3 inch across, with 3 to 5 (usually 5) yellow petals with rounded tips, 3 to 5 yellow green sepals with triangular tips that are at least as long as the petals, if not slightly longer, but they bend downward. Stamens number 10 to many, have yellow anthers, and surround the green receptacle composed of numerous pistils without styles. The nectaries of the flower are right on the base of the petals. A true corolla is lacking. The central receptacle elongates at maturity as the petals drop away. Sepals are not persistent.

Seed: Fertile flowers produce a cluster of dry brown achenes on the elongated central receptacle that are flat, smooth and kidney shaped with a short triangular beak. [in var. sceleratus the seeds have transverse wrinkles]

Histology:

Microscopical: Stem : Transverse section is circular in out line with a thin cuticle covering the epidermis followed by multicellular cortex having air - cavities. Distinct hypodermis and cambium absent. Vascular bundles conjoint, collateral and closed and present in peripheral region consisting of smaller and larger bundles arranged alternately and surrounded by sclerenchyma. Pith is large with central hollow region. Leaf: dorsiventral covered with small, unicellular, thin - walled, glandular hairs. Stomata anomocytic. (Pharmacopea)

This smooth perennial herb grows to a height of about 1 foot. Stem erect, glabrous, thick, succulent, hollow, and branching; juice acrid and blistering. Leaves thickish, the upper sessile or nearly so, the lobes oblong - linear and nearly entire; stem - leaves 3 - lobed, rounded; root - leaves 3 - parted, but not to the base, the lobes obtusely cut and toothed; petioles of the lower leaves long, and sheathing at their dilated bases. Flowers small, pale - yellow; sepals reflexed; petals scarcely exceeding the sepals. Fruit an oblong, cylindrical head; carpels numerous, barely mucronate.

Geographical distribution:

Ranunculus sceleratus has a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere There are two varieties and one subspecies with distinctive distributions: R. sceleratus ssp. reptabundus occurs in northern Finland and north-west Russia. R. scleratus var. multifidus occurs in north western North America. and R. scleratus var. longissimus is found from Minnesota to Alabama according to their biodiversity and plant atlases respectively

ECOLOGICAL ASPECT:

In and by slow streams, ditches and shallow ponds of mineral rich water and muddy bottoms, avoiding acid soils

Plant conservation:

Least Concern

General Use:

The celery-leafed buttercup is one of the most virulent of our native plants. The whole plant is acrid, anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic and emmenagogue and rubefacient When bruised and applied to the skin it raises a blister and creates a sore that is by no means easy to heal. If chewed it inflames the tongue and produces violent effects. The herb should be used fresh since it loses its effects when dried The leaves and the root are used externally as an antirheumatic. The seed is tonic and is used in the treatment of colds, general debility, rheumatism and spermatorrhoea

Therapeutic Uses:

The whole plant has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, sedative and expectorant properties and it is recommended against skin diseases such as eczema, herpes, pruritus, burns and swellings. Also, it is administered for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, arthritis, ulcers and rhinitis.

Systemic Use:

When made into a tincture, given in small diluted doses, it proves curative of stitch in the side and neuralgic pains between the ribs.

Administration:

The plant is administered as anti-rheumatic and analgesic in the form of herbal tea (50g of dried herb in one litre of boiled water, 3 times a day). It is externally applied as sedative and anti-inflammatory in the form of tincture (1: 5 parts of herbal extract and ethyl alcohol 70%, 30 drops, 3 times a day for adults, 15 drops, 3 times a day for children) and ointment.

Pharmacological:

Fresh Plant—highly acrid,

rubefacient, vesicant and toxic;

Clinical trials:

1. Mei H, Zuo S, Ye L, Wang J, Ma S. Review of the application of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb, Ranunculus sceleratus Linn. J Med Plant Res. 2012; 6: 1821-26.

2. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF COLD STRATIFICATION ON THE GERMINATION RESPONSE TO LIGHT AND ALTERNATING TEMPERATURES USING SELECTED SEED POPULATIONS OF RANUNCULUS-SCELERATUS L Probert, R.J., J.B. Dickie, and M.R. Hart, Journal of Experimental Botany, 1989. 20(211): p. 293-302.

3. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF COLD STRATIFICATION ON THE GERMINATION RESPONSE TO LIGHT AND ALTERNATING TEMPERATURES USING SELECTED SEED POPULATIONS OF RANUNCULUS-SCLERATUS L Probert, R.J., J.B. Dickie, and M.R. Hart, Journal of Experimental Botany, 1989. 40(211): p. 293-301.

Research:

1. Screening of Ranunculus sceleratus for enzyme inhibition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities Sammia Shahid Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Technology, University of Management and Technology, Lahore 54770, Pakistan, Tauheeda Riaz Directorate of Land Reclamation, Punjab Irrigation Department, Lahore 54770, Pakistan, Muhammad Nadeem Asghar Department of Chemistry, FCC University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan

2. Enhancement of auxin sensitivity in Ranunculus sceleratus by ethylene: A mechanism to escape from hypoxia under temporary submergence Park, W.J., R. Hertel, and B.G. Kang, Environmental and Experimental Botany, 2011. 72(2): p. 266-271.

Precautions:

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: It’s UNSAFE for anyone to apply poisonous buttercup to their skin, but pregnant women have additional conditions. Applying poisonous buttercup to the skin or taking it by mouth might make the uterus contract, and this could cause a miscarriage.

Toxicity studies:

Poisonous buttercup is UNSAFE for use when applied to skin. Skin contact with fresh or bruised plants can lead to blisters and burns that are difficult to heal. Touching poisonous buttercup might also increase the risk of sunburn.

Use in other system of medicine:

SKIN HEALTH

A decoction of Ranunculus sceleratus leaves is used externally in painful and repeated lumps of pus.

CONCLUSION:

The celery-leafed buttercup is one of the strongest acting of our native plants. The whole plant is acrid, mildly pain-relieving, and antispasmodic, induces sweating, promotes or assists the flow of menstrual fluid and causes irritation to the skin. When bruised and applied to the skin it raises a blister and creates a sore that is difficult to heal. If chewed it inflames the tongue and produces violent effects. If used medicinally, the herb should be used fresh since it loses its effects when dried. The leaves and the root have been used externally for rheumatism. The seed is tonic and has been used in the treatment of colds, rheumatism and excessive ejaculation

Photos of kandira -

Ranunculus sceleratus

: Courtesy: https://pfaf.org/Admin/PlantImages/RanunculusSceleratus.jpg

: Courtesy: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Ranunculus_sceleratus_002.JPG

: Courtesy: https://www.kuleuven-kulak.be/kulakbiocampus/lage%20planten/Ranunculus%20sceleratus%20-%20Blaartrekkende%20boterbloem/Ranunculus_sceleratus-blaartrekkende_boterbloem02.jpg