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Christmas Roses
Christmas Roses (Helleborus niger L.) East Julian Alps (Posocje, Slovenia) – Photographer: Copyright © 2004 Dr. Amadej Trnkoczy “Borage and hellebore fill two scenes, Sovereign plants to purge the veins Of melancholy, and cheer the heart Of those black fumes which make it smart.” 1 About this time of year, if you are very lucky, with extra warm weather the last of the garden roses may make a freak out-of-season appearance, but their brave ephemeral spirits are quashed of life by the first frosts. In late autumn fading into winter there are plenty of orange-red to purple flames of colour to be found in the garden, but the time for flowers is over. It is then the Christmas roses (Helliborus spps.) come into their own. They valiantly give a face-lift to our cold grey days in the garden or in artificial form, sprayed with gold and iridescent imitation frost, manifest as traditional Yuletide table decorations and the like, but what do we know of them? The Christmas rose is a bit of a buttercup really, not a rose, which belongs to the plant family Ranunculacae. The name Heleborus derives from the Green ‘elein’ to injure and ‘bora’ food. The niger part refers to the black colour of the roots of the plant, although black flowered plants do very much exist.2 Among it’s many common names, our ‘Snow rose’ (Helleborus niger) is called ‘Rose de Noel’ in France and ‘Rosa di Natale’ in Italy. The Hellebore is considered in Europe to be one of the most traditional and noblest of seasonal plants. The Christian Christmas rose is legendary, it is said to have arisen on the spot touched by an angel, spontaneously grown from a human tear of need. Its mythological materialization into floral life was the Heavenly endowment of a poor little girl, Madelon, who had nothing to give as a ‘gift’ for Christ when visiting Bethlehem after his birth.3 Hellebore’s Traditional Healing What can heal, can harm. In Africa Hellebore has been used as arrow poison. In Europe, Christmas roses’ powerful toxic compounds have been known since the time of the ancients and their medicinal values respected. Only the rhizome, Rhizoma Hellebori, is used for remedial applications, mainly for mental disorders, with spectacular curative results. The simplest of hellebores uses was to eradicate lice. Treating intestinal worms with hellebore continued into the 18th-Century, but there was some chance that the patient might die with the worms! However, in veterinary treatment a decoction is still used to treat mange. Certainly, Hellebore’s use was current in the Middle Ages, when it was extensively employed by herbalists. Pliny mentioned the use of H. niger being as early as 1400 BC by a soothsayer and physician Melampus,4 as a result of which the plant was sometimes referred to as ‘melampode’.6 Theophrastus5 1st-Century AD and Dioscorides7 also mentioned Christmas rose in their works. According to Greek tradition, Melampus was a shepherd who first realized Hellebore’s properties by observing its effect on his goats; later he is said to have used it successfully to cure the daughters of Proteus, King of Argus, of mental derangement, by dosing them with the milk of goats that had eaten the plant.7A Hellebore’s ‘Moving On’ in Medicine? Earlier uses of the herb included use as a purgative, local anesthetic and abortefacient. Although these early applications have been abandoned, modern medicine appears to have forgotten the curative attributes of hellebore. Hellebrigenine preparations have been used as an emetic, diuretic, emmenagogue (any agent promoting menstrual discharge) and irritant. It has also been usefully employed as a cardio-tonic to complement digitalin, a powerful cardiac obtained from foxglove, and strophanthin - a bitter and very toxic glycoside derived from plants of the Strophanthus genus that in moderate doses is a cardiac stimulant, but in larger doses is a violent poison.8 The plant’s potential has for the most part long been lying idle in orthodox medicine, which is not the case in Homoeopathic medicine which uses a tincture9 prepared from the fresh rhizome (H. foetidus) to treat now common eclampsia, 10 still not well understood epilepsy, 11 certain psychoses, 12 and to combat meningitis13 and encephalitis14; chiefly conditions relating to the ‘mental’ body i.e. the nervous system. Homoeopathy seems not to suffer from untrustworthiness among members of the public, if constantly under threat from the orthodox or scientific establishment on the grounds of ‘if you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist!’ Just wait ‘til they progress into Vibrational Medicine, then we shall see a volte-face! Plants of the Ranunculaceae (Buttercup) family contain many powerful toxins. Although Hellebore poisoning is rare, should a misfortune occur it is as well for your GP to know that those toxic compounds found in H. niger in addition to glycosides helleborin, hellebrin and helleborein, include saponosides and the ranunculoside derivative, protoanenmonine. The primary cardiac glycoside present in Helleborus is bufadienolide hellebrin. Treatment for cardiac glycoside poisoning is given to be: atropine and activated charcoal, and lidocaine for H. viridis. Generally, the cardiac glycosides present are responsible for poisonings causing digitalis-like symptoms and effects. [Ref: 2] Apart from the usual cardio-active interest in hellebore’s compounds, there has been some scientific interest in Hellebore’s hellebrin in the middle of the last century,15 then a gap of almost 20 years before there were further botanical and phytochemical investigations into the Helleborus genus.16 However, German research this century shows that the natural bufadienolide glycoside (hellebrin) with natural cardiac activity when modified to derivatives with ‘non-cardioactivty’ could be used for the preferential killing of malignant cells. These apoptosis (cell death) inducing agents specific for tumor cells might be ideal anti-tumor drugs with tumor-specific cytotoxicity suggests the potential of using them in cancer therapy.17 Another of hellebore’s compounds received attention back in the 1980s. At least twenty species in Ranunculaceae, the buttercup family, were reported as having been used medicinally by nineteen different groups of native peoples in British Columbia and adjacent areas. Hellebore is of the species known to contain the skin-irritating, blister-causing compound, protoanemonin, in its fresh state. Researcher N.J. Turner’s review stated that protoanemonin is almost certainly the active principle involved in many of these medicinal applications, which we know is present in hellebores. The plants were used as external poultices for boils, cuts, abrasions and other skin sores. “Native groups in other parts of North America also used many ranunculaceous species as poultices, and for colds, headaches and many other ailments. A number were used for stimulation and "revival" of unconscious persons.”18 The latter referring to the heart, blood pressure and mental stimulation rings hellebores’ bells, as medicinal doses strengthen the heart and increase the force of the pulse.19 Turner was affirmative in suggesting that the protoanemonin contained in the plants may have positively influenced the healing process physiologically and not just psychologically, and that if further research was undertaken this may prove to be the case; that protoanemonin containing plants may indeed have potential in certain treatments in modern medicine for the future. So many of the herbs known and used by the ancients are now being re-adopted or ‘rediscovered’, it would seem that maybe the pharmaceutical sector has been a bit lax in not latching on to further contemporary advanced investigations of Hellebore for conditions difficult to treat such as epilepsy. One day soon perhaps scientists will suddenly announce such a modern use for the plant. Meanwhile it has other admirers. Hellebore Royalty
www.farmyardnurserives.co.uk – Llandysul, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK On Saturday the 9th April 2005, HRH Prince Charles celebrated his wedding with Camilla Parker-Bowles at Windsor, Berkshire, England. Perhaps unbeknownst to His Royal Highness, his purple hellebore buttonhole (purple stands for majesty) in the Language of Flowers, means tranquilize my anxiety.20 According to plant experts, hellebores were also associated with ‘scandal’ when worn at weddings; interestingly, he changed his buttonhole to a pale hellebore for the blessing.21 In contrast to its more notorious associations, John Gerard22 called Hellebore the Christ herbe, and folklore has it that people blessed their precious cattle with the plant to keep them safe from evil spells, for which purpose it was dug up with certain mystic rites.23 Hellebore is not only anxiolytic, it was used to protect. Strangely, though Mrs. Grieves tells us that the dry powder of hellebore causes violent sneezing, she also tells us that the sorcerer in an old French romance, to make himself invisible when passing through the enemy’s camp, scatters powdered Hellebore in the air as he goes24 – a useful tool for those always in the public eye! Black Hellebore once went to War
Black Hellebore (Hybrid - Helleborus niger L.) www.farmyardnurseries.co.uk Historically, Hellebore also has its darker side. Bio-warfare is not new, in fact, in olden times the earliest known use of biological weapons was derived from plants. A little poison goes a long way to kill or to cure. Around 590 B.C., Solon of Athens used black hellebore roots – the ancient Greeks called Black Hellebore (Helleborus officinalis) - to contaminate the water in an aqueduct leading from the Pleistrus River to the besieged city of Cirrha. Upon drinking the water, the Cirrhaeans developed violent and uncontrollable diarrhea and were consequently quickly defeated.25 Today, ‘Solon’ means “A man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs”. Solon may not have been averse to using black hellebore’s poison as a purposeful emetic and be seen as a bioterrorist, but he also created the ‘Solonian Constitution’ in the early 6th –Century, which reforms abolished all debts and serfdom for farmers. These reforms known as Seisachtheia or the ‘shaking off of burdens” show that the use of Hellebore as a means to an end gives its participation in bringing about a better way of life a less poisonous and more elevated position in history.26 Like the floral meaning of Hellebore, it took a lot of anxiety out of life for the beleaguered serfs. Yuletide and Pets A Christmas rose, which is a bit of an outsider as a Yuletide hazard for pets, is not the only traditional accessory to the festivities that can be a cause for concern. One of your own favourite treats ‘chocolate’ could terminate your pet’s life. All chocolate naturally contains theobromine and caffeine (drug class methylxanthines) that are toxic to pets. The darker the chocolate the more perilous the results may be. Only a moderate amount is needed to be consumed by e.g. a dog to be poisonous (approx. ½ oz. of baking chocolate per pound of body weight and less in some animals). Ill effects may include vomiting, excessive urination, hyperactivity, fast breathing, weakness and seizures, but it is the methylxanthines that have adverse action on the animal’s heart. It is unwise to feed a dog chocolates, chocolate bars or cake(s), etc., anything containing chocolate.27 To emphasize the point; methylxanthines are cited for use in killing pest coyotes! 28 Other common hazards that may cause pain, discomfort, distress and/or sickness are: sweets for their sugar content, and Macadamia nuts can cause pain, muscle stiffness, nausea and vomiting, and disorientation in canines. Do not leave cigarettes (ashtrays) or unfinished drinks lying around, because ingested tobacco (fag ends), alcohol and caffeine may cause harm to an animal. Christmas packaging such as tinsel, ribbon, string etc. can cause big intestinal problems if eaten. Christmas tree bucket water, with or without preservative, can bring about sickness, problems can arise from pine needles to bacteria laden stagnant water.29 COMMENT: Cut hellebores’ fresh sap cause skin irritation and should be kept out of the way of pets and children as all spps. are poisonous. Serious poisoning following ingestion of Christmas rose (Helleborus niger L.) is rare, but due precaution should be taken with all Christmas decorations when considering family safety. Fortunately, Hellebores are said to have an acrid burning taste, (helleborin),30 which is to some extent protective.. However the whole plant is toxic and the toxins present are not destroyed in drying or storage and both animals and humans may be affected.
1. The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton 1612 AD. http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/divphil/burtonr.htm 2. Cornell University – Cornell Animal Science Department – website: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/christmasrose/christmasrose.html 3. Ibid 4. Melampus: In Greek Mythology, Melampus, or Malmpous, was a soothsayer and healer who could talk to animals (whisperer in today’s vernacular). A number of pseudepigraphal works of divination circulated under his name. Three works have survived under the name ‘Melampus’ (1) Peri Palmon Mantike, an extended treatise on divination by twitches (palomancy), existing in a number of versions; (2) Per Elaion tou somatos, a short work on divination by moles (translation www.isidore-of-seville.com/astdiv/memelampus ; and (3) An astrological lunarium. The twitch text begins with a dedication to a king Ptolemy, probably Ptolemy Philadelphus, which is probably bogus. 5. Cornell University – Cornell Animal Science Department – website: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/christmasrose/christmasrose.html 6. Theophrastus (c.370-288BC): ‘Father of Botany’, Greek philosopher and scientist, pupil and successor of Aristotle. One of his most influential post-classical times’ works was Characters, a collection of sketches of psychological types. 7. Dioscorides, Pedanius (c.40 – c.90AD): Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist who practiced in Rome at the times of Nero. He was a surgeon with the Emporial army and sought medicinal substances from all over the Roman and Greek world. Famous for writing his five volume book De Materia Medica, precursor to all modern pharmacopeias, which remained one of the most influential herbal books in history and in use until about 1600AD. 7A. Hellebore (Christmas Rose) – http://www.herbalgram.org/youngliving/herbalgram/articleview.asp?-64 8. Cornell University – Cornell Animal Science Department – website: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/christmasrose/christmasrose.html 9. Tincture: alcoholic extract, the alcohol inhibits enzymes thereby preventing the break down of e.g. protoanemoninie. 10. Eclampsia: A toxic condition characterized by convulsions and possible coma during or immediately after pregnancy. 11. Epilepsy: Medical disorder of the brain involving episodes of irregular electrical discharge in the brain and characterized by the periodic sudden loss or impairment of consciousness, often accompanies by convulsions. 12. Psychoses: Any severe mental disorder in which contact with reality is lost or highly distorted. 13. Meningitis: Infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the mininges (the tissues that surround the brain or spinal cord) usually caused by a bacterial infection; symptoms include headache and stiff neck and fever and nausea. 14. Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain usually caused by a virus; symptoms include headache and neck pain and drowsiness and nausea and fever (‘phrenitis’ is not longer in scientific use.) 15. [Paper chromatographic detection of hellebrin “Roche”.] [Article in German] Schenck G, Sadee H. Arch Pharm Ber Dtsh Parm Ges. 1955;288(3):101-2. 16. [Botanical and phytochemical investigations of species of the genus Helleborus growing in Europe and Asian Minor. III. The quantitative contents of Hellebrin in plants of the natural biotops and in culture (author's transl)] [Article in German] Planta Med. 1974 Dec; 26(4):364-74.
17.
‘Apoptosis-mediated
selective killing of malignant cells by cardiac steroids: maintenance of
cytotoxicity and loss of cardiac activity of chemically modified derivatives. 18. ‘Counter-irritant and other medicinal uses of plants in Ranunculaceae by native peoples in British Columbia and neighbouring areas.’ Turner NJ. J Ethnopharmacol. 1984 Jul;11(2):181-201 19. ‘The American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy’ by Finley Ellingwood, M.D., 1919. http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/ellingwood/helleborus.html 20. ‘The Language of Flowers’: http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:hUxT-fdiE-QJ:www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/RG325.pdf+Language+of+Flowers+Hellebore&hl=en 21. ‘Butttonhole’s purple past.’ The Mail on Sunday’ 10th April 2005. 22. John Gerard (1545-1612). English Botanist famous for his herbal garden. Educated at Willaston, Nr. Nantwich and started to study Medicine and traveled widely as ship’s surgeon and became a Barber Surgeon. In 1596, he published a list of plants cultivated in his garden at Holborn, still extant in the British Museum, and in 1597 his famous Herbal. In 1633 an enlarged and amended version was printed. Gerard used the Materia Medica of Dioscorides, the works of the German botanists Fuchs and Gesner and the Italian Matthiolus. His Historie of Plants is famous both for the detailed descriptions of plants, the folklore contained in the articles and its splendid prose. 23. ‘A Modern Herbal’ by Mrs. M Grieve FRHS, Edited and introduced by Mrs. C. F. Leyel (1931) www.botanical.com 24. Ibid. 25. ‘Bioterror through time’ – http://dsc.discovery.com/anthology/sportlight/bioterror/history/history.html 26. ‘Solonian Constitution’ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solonian_Constitution 27. ‘Urgent Warnings’: Chocolate and Pets: http://www.moggies.co.uk/warning.html#chocolate 28. ‘Evaluation of cocoa- and coffee-derived methylxanthines are toxicants for the control of pest coyotes.’ Johnston JJ. USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Centre, For Collins, Colorado, USA. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 May 18;53(10):4069-75. “Methylxanthines were quantified in coffee, tea, and chocolate products. Tarajuilie tea from India, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs contained the highest levels of methylxanthines. Theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline combined in the ratios observed in tea and chocolate were ingested by coyotes. Although both mixtures induced acute toxicity, the symptoms accompanying the chocolate methylxanthine mimic were preferable. … Mortality occurred in every coyote that ingested any portion of the CLOD [lure] contents. These results indicate that mixtures of theobromine and caffeine have the potential to be developed into a selective, effective, and socially acceptable toxicant for the control of pest coyotes.” 29. ‘Yuletide Can Be Dangerous for Animals’ by Jennifer Gardener – ‘Home & Garden’ http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2005/11/16/lifestyles/home_garden/hag02.txt Other animal holiday period hazards are given in this article. 30. Kings American Dispensatory – [K Thaeter & Husemann and Marmé] http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings/helleborus.html |
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