Lactucarium
 | This article needs more reliable medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources. (September 2015) |  |
| Lactucarium | |
|---|---|
| Source plant(s) | Lactuca spp. |
| Part(s) of plant | Latex (see also seeds) |
| Geographic origin | Southern Europe |
| Uses | Analgesic, sleep aid, euphoriant |
| Legal status |
|
Lactucarium is the milky fluid secreted by several species of lettuce, especially Lactuca virosa, usually from the base of the stems. It is known as lettuce opium because of its sedative and analgesic properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria.[1][2] Because it is a latex, lactucarium physically resembles opium, in that it is excreted as a white fluid and can be reduced to a thick smokable solid.
History
[edit]"Lettuce opium" was used by the ancient Egyptians, and was introduced as a drug in the United States as early as 1799.[3] The drug was prescribed and studied extensively in Poland during the nineteenth century,[citation needed] and was viewed as an alternative to opium, weaker but lacking side-effects, such as not being highly addictive,[3] and in some cases preferable. However, early efforts to isolate an active alkaloid were unsuccessful.[4] It is described and standardized in the 1898 United States Pharmacopoeia[5] and 1911 British Pharmaceutical Codex[6] for use in lozenges, tinctures, and syrups as a sedative for irritable cough or as a mild hypnotic (sleeping aid) for insomnia. The standard definition of lactucarium in these codices required its production from Lactuca virosa, but it was recognized that smaller quantities of lactucarium could be produced in a similar way from Lactuca sativa and Lactuca canadensis var. elongata, and even that lettuce-opium obtained from Lactuca serriola or Lactuca quercina was of superior quality.[7]
In the twentieth century, two major studies found commercial lactucarium to be without effect. In 1944, Fulton concluded, "Modern medicine considers its sleep producing qualities a superstition, its therapeutic action doubtful or nil." Another study of the time identified active bitter principles lactucin and lactucopicrin, but noted that these compounds from the fresh latex were unstable and did not remain in commercial preparations of lactucarium. Accordingly, lettuce opium fell from favor, until publications of the hippie movement began to promote it in the mid-1970s as a legal drug producing euphoria, sometimes compounded with catnip or damiana.[8][unreliable source?] More recent work has confirmed that lactucin and lactucopicrin do have analgesic and sedative properties.[9]
The seeds of lettuce have also been used to relieve pain.[medical citation needed] Lettuce seed was listed as an anaesthetic in Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine, which served as an authoritative medical textbook from soon after AD 1000 until the seventeenth century.[10]
Contemporary use
[edit]Although lactucarium has faded from general use as a pain reliever, it remains available, sometimes promoted as a legal psychotropic.
The seed of ordinary lettuce, Lactuca sativa, is still used in Avicenna's native Iran as a folk medicine.[citation needed]
Chemical constituents
[edit]
The chemical constituents of lactucarium that have been investigated for biological activity include lactucin and its derivatives lactucopicrin and 11β,13-dihydrolactucin. Lactucin and lactucopicrin were found to have analgesic effects comparable to those of ibuprofen, and sedative activity in measurements of spontaneous movements of the mice.[9] Some effects have also been credited to a trace of hyoscyamine in Lactuca virosa, but the alkaloid was undetectable in standard lactucarium.[6] A crude extract of the seeds was shown to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in standard formalin and carrageenan tests of laboratory rats. It was not toxic to the rats at a dose of 6 grams per kilogram.[11]
Lactuca virosa contains flavonoids, coumarins, and N-methyl-β-phenethylamine.[12][unreliable source?] A variety of other chemical compounds have been isolated from L. virosa. One of the compounds, lactucin, is an adenosine receptor agonist in vitro,[9][failed verification] while another, lactucopicrin, has been shown to act as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor in vitro.[13]
Lactuca floridana was found to contain 11β,13-Dihydro-lactucin-8-O-acetate hemihydrate.[14]
Formulations
[edit]Lactucarium was used unmodified in lozenges, 30–60 milligrams (0.5 to 1 grain), sometimes mixed with borax. However, it was found to be more efficient to formulate the drug in a cough syrup (Syrupus Lactucarii, U.S.P.) containing net 5% lactucarium, 22% glycerin, 5% alcohol, and 5% orange-flower water in syrup.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Adams C (2005-01-06). "Is iceberg lettuce a drug?". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ Spadari M, Pommier P, Canioni D, Arditti J, David JM, Valli M (April 2003). "[Abuse of lactuca virosa]". Presse Médicale (in French). 32 (15): 702–3. PMID 12762295.
- ^ a b Harkins T (2021-05-31). "Wild Lettuce - Everything You Need to Know • New Life On A Homestead". New Life On A Homestead. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Trojanowska A (2005). "[Lettuce, lactuca sp., as a medicinal plant in polish publications of the 19th century]". Kwartalnik Historii Nauki I Techniki (in Polish). 50 (3–4): 123–34. PMID 17153150.
- ^ Felter HW, Lloyd JU (1898). "King's American Dispensary:Tinctura Lactucarii (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Lactucarium". Retrieved 2007-05-28.
- ^ a b c the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1911). "Lactuca, Lactucarium". Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Harvey Wickes Felter, John Uri Lloyd (1898). King's American Dispensatory. Cincinnati: Ohio Valley Co. pp. 1114–1117. See Lactuca.—Lettuce and Tinctura Lactucarii (U. S. P.)—Tincture of Lactucarium at Henriette's Herbal Homepage.
- ^ "Lettuce opium". Retrieved 2007-05-28.
- ^ a b c Wesołowska A, Nikiforuk A, Michalska K, Kisiel W, Chojnacka-Wójcik E (September 2006). "Analgesic and sedative activities of lactucin and some lactucin-like guaianolides in mice". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 107 (2): 254–8. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2006.03.003. PMID 16621374.
- ^ Smith RD (October 1980). "Avicenna and the Canon of Medicine: a millennial tribute". The Western Journal of Medicine. 133 (4): 367–70. PMC 1272342. PMID 7051568.
- ^ Sayyah M, Hadidi N, Kamalinejad M (June 2004). "Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of Lactuca sativa seed extract in rats". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 92 (2–3): 325–9. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.03.016. PMID 15138019.
- ^ "Wild Lettuce". Holistic Online herb information.
- ^ Rollinger JM, Mocka P, Zidorn C, Ellmerer EP, Langer T, Stuppner H (September 2005). "Application of the in combo screening approach for the discovery of non-alkaloid acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from Cichorium intybus". Current Drug Discovery Technologies. 2 (3): 185–93. doi:10.2174/1570163054866855. PMID 16472227.
- ^ Fronczek CF, Gomez-Barrios ML, Fischer NH, Fronczek FR (September 2009). "11β,13-Dihydro-lactucin-8-O-acetate hemihydrate". Acta Crystallographica Section E. 65 (Pt 10): o2564-5. Bibcode:2009AcCrE..65o2564F. doi:10.1107/S160053680903829X. PMC 2970292. PMID 21578003.