''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the buttercup family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

. It is found in dry

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

s and

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

. More specifically, this plant grows in a wide range of locations which include open forests, forest clearings, dry meadows, mesic steppe, and mostly calcareous soil. Isolated populations are found from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the west across

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

with fine examples in

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

, Switzerland, and

southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern regions of Europe, region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countrie ...

, reaching southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in the north and

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

in the south, with its main area of distribution being the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...

and the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain (russian: За́падно-Сиби́рская равни́на ''Zapadno-Sibirskaya ravnina'') is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei River ...

. In contrast to most other European ''Adonis'' species, the flowers appear in springtime, and are up to in diameter, with up to 20 bright yellow

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s. Not only do the flowers begin to grow, but so do the plants aerial organs, from around April to May. The plant is poisonous, containing cardiostimulant compounds, such as adonidin and aconitic acid. Infusions of the plant are used in the medicine Bekhterev's mixture. It is often used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

Traditional uses

Due to the cardiac-enhancing effects of ''Adonis'' species (including ''Adonis vernalis''), this plant has a history of use in European and Chinese folk medicineShang, Xiaofei; Maio, Xiaolou; Yang, Feng; Wang, Chunmei; Li, Bing; Wang, Weiwei; Pan, Hu; Guo, Xiao; Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Jiyu (4 February 2019). "The Genus Adonis as an Important Cardiac Folk Medicine: A Review of the Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology". Frontiers in Pharmacology. 10: 25. doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.00025. to treat various health problems. It has been used in the Soviet Union to treat edema or swelling and as an alternative cardiac agent. In 1879, a Russian medical doctor, N. O. Buhnow, first introduced into medicine alcoholic extracts of the plant as a cardiac stimulant.Shikov, Alexander N.; Pozharitskaya, Olga N.; Makarov, Valery G.; Wagner, Hildebert; Verpoorte, Rob; Heinrich, Michael (3 July 2014). "Medicinal Plants of the Russian Pharmacopoeia; their history and applications". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 153 (3): 481–536. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.007 In 1898, a mixture of the plant extracts with sodium bromide or codeine was suggested (by Vladimir Bekherev) to treat heart diseases, panic disorder, dystonia and mild forms of epilepsy. Aqueous infusions of the aerial parts of the plant have been traditionally used in Siberia against edema, cardiac edema and several other issues that are heart related, kidney diseases, and even malaria. The biological activity of this extract was defined as 50–66 frog units (amount or liquid of substance that causes the arrest of the heart of a frog) and 6.3–8.0 cat units (amount or liquid of substance that causes the arrest of the heart of a cat) and large enough doses can be toxic.

Phytochemicals

There are many phytochemicals that come from the plant ''Adonis vernalis'' including cardiac glycosides such as

cymarin Cymarin (or cymarine) is a cardiac glycoside. Plants of the genus ''Apocynum'', including ''Apocynum cannabinum ''Apocynum cannabinum'' (dogbane, amy root, hemp dogbane, prairie dogbane, Indian hemp, rheumatism root, or wild cotton) is a pe ...

and

digitoxigenin Digitoxigenin, a cardenolide, is the aglycone of digitoxin. Digitoxigenin can be used to prepare actodigin. In Lednicer's book on steroids, it is made from deoxycholic acid Deoxycholic acid is a bile acid. Deoxycholic acid is one of the se ...

and flavones including

orientin Orientin is a flavone, a chemical flavonoid-like compound. It is the 8-C glucoside of luteolin. Natural occurrences Orientin is found in ''Adonis vernalis'', in '' Anadenanthera colubrina'' and ''Anadenanthera peregrina'', and in the '' Phyllost ...

luteolin Luteolin is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, with a yellow crystalline appearance. Luteolin is the principal yellow dye compound that is obtained from the plant '' Reseda luteola'', which has been used as a source of the dye since at least the f ...

, and

vitexin Vitexin is an apigenin flavone glucoside, a chemical compound found in the passion flower, ''Vitex agnus-castus'' (chaste tree or chasteberry), in the ''Phyllostachys nigra'' bamboo leaves, in the pearl millet (Pennisetum millet), and in Hawt ...

Medicinal uses

''Adonis vernalis'' contains cardiac glycosides that improve the cardiac efficiency by increasing its output and reducing heart rate.Rouhi, Hossein Reza; Aboutalebian, Mohammad Ali; Saman, Maryam; Karimi, Fatemeh; Champiri, Roya Mahmoudieh (2013). "SEED GERMINATION AND DORMANCY BREAKING METHODS FOR PHEASANT'S EYE (Adonis vernalis L.)"(PDF). International Journal of Agriculture: Research and Review. 3 (1): 172–175 These glycosides also have a sedative effect and are often prescribed to patients whose hearts are beating irregularly or at an increased rate. Tinctures of ''Adonis vernalis'' are also used by homeopathic physicians in patients that are suffering from congestive cardiac failure and its action is very similar to digitalis (another drug that stimulates the heart muscle).Esmail, Al-Snafi Ali (2015). "THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: A REVIEW OF PLANTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS (PART 1)". International Journal of Pharmacology & Toxicology. 5 (3): 163–176. Retrieved 22 April 2020. Aqueous extracts of ''Adonis vernalis'' were found to have cardiac stimulant effects on isolated heart preparations and it also showed that production of excessive and high potassium concentrations protects against heart failure. The plant also contains some flavones with pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neuro and cardioprotective, and anti-allergic properties.

References

External links

Adonis vernalis in Topwalks
vernalis Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{ranunculales-stub

Traditional uses

Phytochemicals

Medicinal uses

See also

References

External links