''Alisma orientale'', commonly known as Asian water plantain is a flowering plant species in the genus ''

Alisma ''Alisma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plants with leaves either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water hab ...

'' found in Asia. ''Alisma orientale'' is sometimes treated as a variety of ''

Alisma plantago-aquatica ''Alisma plantago-aquatica'', also known as European water-plantain, common water-plantain or mad-dog weed, is a perennial flowering aquatic plant widespread across most of Europe and Asia, and apparently spread elsewhere in both the Old and New ...

'' (''Alisma plantago-aquatica'' var. ''orientale''). The rhizomes of ''A. orientale'' have been used as a

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

, ''ze xie''. However, it may have serious side effects or even toxic effects such as

hepatotoxicity Hepatotoxicity (from ''hepatic toxicity'') implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn fro ...

. The rhizome of the plant is also a herb used in kampo Japanese medicine. The seed contains cis-aconitic anhydride ethyl ester and cis-2,4,5-trihydroxycinnamic acid.

References

* Flora U.R.S.S. 1:281. 1933

External links

* orientale Freshwater plants Flora of China Flora of Japan Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Plants described in 1933 {{Alismatales-stub