Lepidium virginicum

Scientific name: Lepidium virginicum L.

Botanical family: BRASSICACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Cuba:

mastuerzo

Venezuela:

mastuerzo V

Geographical distribution

Widely distributed in the Americas, from Canada to South America and the Antilles. Introduced to the rest of the world.

Botanical description

Herbaceous, annual, pubescent plant, commonly 20 to 30 cm.
Basal leaves in rosettes, obovate or spatulate, pinnatifid, serrate, those on the stem are lanceolate or oblong-linear. White or whitish-purple flowers in bunches of 30 cm or more, puberulent; petals generally ovate to spatulate. Oval or almost orbicular silicles, glabrous, 3 to 4 mm. Seeds 2 per fruit, orange in colour.

Voucher(s)

Gimenez,4,VEN
Martínez,4596,ROIG
Fuentes,4760,ROIG

For diarrhoea:
prepare a decoction with 20 grams of fresh aerial parts in 4 cups (1 litre) of water, boil for 5 minutes in a closed vessel.
Allow to cool, strain (filter) and drink 1 cup, 3 or 4 times a day or after each diarrhoeal stool, for 3 days, (10 days in case of amoebiasis).

For kidney pain:
prepare a decoction with 20 grams of fresh aerial parts in 4 cups (1 litre) of water, boil for 5 minutes in a closed vessel.

Leave to cool, strain (filter) and drink 1 cup 3 or 4 times a day for 3 days².

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for diarrhoea and kidney pain is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys, the toxicity studies and the scientific information published.

If deterioration is observed in the patient (dehydration with dry tongue, decreased skin turgor, oliguria or crying without tears), seek immediate medical attention. If the diarrhoea persists for more than 2 days, seek medical attention.

The use of this resource in cases of diarrhoea should be considered complementary to oral rehydration therapy. In cases where the diarrhoea is confirmed to be caused by amoebas³, a 10-day treatment should be carried out.

Due to the health risk of kidney stones and infection, an initial medical assessment is recommended. The use of this resource must be considered complementary to medical treatment, unless medically contraindicated.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or if the kidney pain persists for more than 3 days, seek medical attention.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 5 years.

TRAMIL Work⁹
The aqueous extract (30% decoction) from fresh aerial parts (yield: 1.04 mg of total solids/ml), single dose (maximum volume of 2 ml/100 g; equivalent to 6 g plant material/kg or 20.8 mg total solids/kg), orally in rats (3 males and 3 females), in the acute toxicity class model with 14 days of observation, death was not detected, nor signs of toxicity or histopathological changes.

TRAMIL Work¹⁰
The aqueous extract (50% decoction) from fresh aerial parts (yield: 1.41 g of total solids/100 ml, average dose of 1058 mg/kg/24 h, for 5 days), orally in Wistar rats (5 males and 5 females), the control in another 6 rats of the same characteristics (3 of each sex) received distilled water, and were observed constantly in the first 12 hours and then every 24 for 14 days. One death occurred and only one female rat showed weight loss in the first week. No organ damage was observed in the necropsy.

The hydroalcoholic fluid extract from dried leaves (1.57 mg/ml) in vitro showed no genotoxic activity against
Aspergillus nidulans¹¹.

The fluid extract (30% ethanol) from dried aerial parts (0.6, 1.2 and 2.4 g total solids/kg) orally in mice, in the micronucleus induction in bone marrow model, showed no cytotoxic effect on cell proliferation, nor significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MPCE)¹².

No data are available to recommend their medicinal use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children.

Preliminary phytochemical analysis of the plant showed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins and triterpenes⁴.

TRAMIL Work⁵
The aqueous extract (50% decoction) of the fresh aerial parts (100 μl/well) in vitro had no activity against Staphylococus aureus (ATCC 29737) or Escherichia coli (ATCC 10536).

TRAMIL Work⁶
The aqueous extract (30% decoction) from fresh aerial parts (1 and 10 g of plant material/kg), orally in male OF-1 mice (20-25g), 10 animals/group, intestinal transit model with 10% activated carbon (0.1 ml/10 g), did not modify the transit significantly.

The aqueous extract (10 g/100 ml) from dried leaves (25 ml/kg) orally in albino rats (200-250 g), 8 animals/positive control, negative control group, Lipschitz model, had significant diuretic activity⁷.

The aqueous extract (20% decoction) from the whole fresh plant (10 ml/kg), was administered orally in 54 Long-Evans rats of both sexes (150-200 g), diuresis model, control group hydrochlorothiazide (5 mg/kg p.o.). The volumes of urine, Na+, K+ and pH were determined every 1 h for the first 6 hours and then at 24 hours; it showed diuresis, as well as increased excretion of Na+ and K+ significantly higher than the control, but lower than hydrochlorothiazide; the pH showed no variation in urine or in blood⁸.

The hot aqueous dry stem extract, in vitro (100 μl/plate), was active against Entamoeba histolytica³.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 DELENS M, 1992
Encuesta TRAMIL en los Estados Lara y Sucre. Centro al Servicio de la Acción Popular CESAP, Caracas, Venezuela.
2 MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, GARCIA MJ, BOUCOURT E, VICTORIA M, FUENTES V, MORON F, BOULOGNE I, ROBINEAU L, 2009
Encuesta TRAMIL preliminar a grupos de vecinos en los municipios 10 de Octubre, Lisa, Marianao, Habana del Este (Cojímar) en la Ciudad de la Habana. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.
3 CRUZ DE, AGUILAR A, CASTRO J, GONZALEZ MT, 2000
Antiamebic activity of aqueous extracts from five medicinal plants from northeastern Mexico. Arch Med Res 31(4):17-18.
4 MENA GUERRERO MG, 1994
Obtención y aprovechamiento de extractos vegetales de la Flora Salvadoreña. Universidad de El Salvador: Ed. Universitaria, 564 pp.
5 BOUCOURT E, MARTINEZ M J, MOREJON Z, 2010
Evaluación de la actividad antimicrobiana del extracto acuoso de las partes aéreas frescas de Lepidium virginicum L. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, C. Habana, Cuba.
6 MORON FJ, MOREJON Z, VICTORIA MC, BACALLAO Y, FUENTES V, 2009
Acción sobre el tránsito intestinal de la decocción de partes aéreas frescas de Lepidium virginicum L. (mastuerzo) en ratones. Trabajo TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana.
7 CARVAJAL D, CASACO A, GONZALEZ R, 1986
Actividad diurética e hipotensora de cuatro especies de plantas con reportes en medicina popular. Rev CENIC 17:34-36.
8 MENDEZ MdC, 1988
Estudio comparativo del efecto diurético del Lepidium virginicum L. (mastuerzo) en ratas. Tesis para optar por el título de especialista de 1er grado en Farmacología. Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de Camagüey, Cuba.
9 MARTINEZ MJ, MOREJON Z, LOPEZ M, BOUCOURT E, FUENTES V, MORON
F, 2005
Clases tóxicas agudas (CTA) de una decocción de partes aéreas frescas de Lepidium virginicum L. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, La Habana, Cuba.
10 LOPEZ M, MOREJON Z, MARTINEZ MJ, BACALLAO Y, FUENTES V, 2009
Toxicidad aguda oral a dosis repetidas de decocción al 50% de partes aéreas frescas de Lepidium virginicum L. Investigación TRAMIL. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas “Dr. Salvador Allende”, Laboratorio Central de Farmacología, C. Habana, Cuba.
11 RUIZ AR, DE LA TORRE RA, ALONSO N, VILLAESCUSA A, BETANCOURT
J, VIZOSO A, 1996
Screening of medicinal plants for induction of somatic segregation activity in Aspergillus nidulans. J Ethnopharmacol 52(3):123-127.
12 RAMOS A, VILLAESCUSA A, VIZOSO A, 1996
Ausencia de genotoxicidad en extractos fluidos de Ortosiphon aristatus Blume (Té de riñón) y Lepidium virginicum L. (Mastuerzo). Rev Cuba Plant Med 1(2):38-43.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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