''Convolvulus scammonia'', known commonly as scammony, is a bindweed native to the countries of the eastern part of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

basin; it grows in bushy waste places, from Syria in the south to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

in the north, its range extending westward to the

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

, but not to northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is a twining

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 ...

, bearing

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s like those of ''

Convolvulus arvensis ''Convolvulus arvensis'', the field bindweed, is a species of bindweed that is rhizomatous and is in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), native to Europe and Asia. It is a climbing or creeping herbaceous perennial plant with stems growing ...

'', and having irregularly arrow-shaped leaves and a thick fleshy root. The dried juice, virgin scammony, obtained by incision of the living root, has been used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

as ''scammonium'', but the variable quality of the drug has led to the employment of ''scammoniae resina'', which is obtained from the dried root by digestion with alcohol. Upon consumption, the resin is inert until it has passed from the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

into the duodenum, where it meets the bile. A chemical reaction occurs between it and taurocholate and glycocholate in the bile, whereby it is converted into a powerful

purgative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

which in high doses becomes a violent gastrointestinal irritant. Scammony kills both

roundworm The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a bro ...

and

tapeworm Eucestoda, commonly referred to as tapeworms, is the larger of the two subclasses of flatworms in the class Cestoda (the other subclass is Cestodaria). Larvae have six posterior hooks on the scolex (head), in contrast to the ten-hooked Cesto ...

, especially the former, and it was therefore used as an

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them and without causing significant damage to the host. They may ...

. The principal bioactive component is the glucoside

scammonin Scammonin (also known as jalapin or scammonium) is a glycoside that has been isolated from the stems of ''Ipomoea purga'' (jalap plant) and from ''Convolvulus scammonia'' (scammony). References External links

Glycosides Glycolipids ...

(also known as jalapin, molecular formula C₃₄H₅₆O₁₆).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q310388 Resins scammonia Flora of Lebanon Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus