''Visnaga daucoides'' is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by many common names, including toothpick-plant, toothpickweed, bisnaga, khella, or sometimes

bishop's weed Bishop's weed is a common name for several plants, all but one of which belong to the plant family Apiaceae. * ''Aegopodium podagraria'', which is an invasive perennial weed of temperate regions, known also in English as ground elder. * ''Ammi maju ...

. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it can be found throughout the world as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

Description

This is an erect annual plant growing from a

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

to a maximum height near . The leaves are up to long and generally oval to triangular in shape but dissected into many small linear to lance-shaped segments. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a compound

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

of white flowers similar to those of other Apiaceae species. The fruit is a compressed oval-shaped body less than 3 millimeters long. This species is a source of

khellin Khellin has been used as an herbal folk medicine, with use in the Mediterranean dating back to Ancient Egypt, to treat a variety of maladies including: renal colic, kidney stones, coronary disease, bronchial asthma, vitiligo, and psoriasis. It ...

, a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics i ...

extract. Like its close relative ''

Ammi majus ''Ammi majus'', commonly called bishop's flower, false bishop's weed, laceflower, bullwort, etc., is a member of the carrot family Apiaceae. The plant, which has white lace-like flower clusters, has a large distribution through Southern Europe, ...

'', ''Visnaga daucoides'' is commonly seen in gardens where it is grown from seed annually. Some authorities regard ''Visnaga daucoides'' as a synonym of ''Ammi visnaga''; and it is still widely referenced under that name.

Traditional medicine

In Egypt, a

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

made from the fruit of this species has been used as an

herbal remedy Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...

for

kidney stones Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a calculus (medicine), solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the ...

. Preparations of the fruits have also been used for

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

therapy.

Laboratory research

Laboratory rat studies show that the extract slows the buildup of calcium oxalate crystals in the kidneys and acts as a

. Its clinical effects in humans are unknown.

Chemical constituents

Khellin Khellin has been used as an herbal folk medicine, with use in the Mediterranean dating back to Ancient Egypt, to treat a variety of maladies including: renal colic, kidney stones, coronary disease, bronchial asthma, vitiligo, and psoriasis. It ...

, a

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

obtained from ''Visnaga daucoides'', was used at one time as a smooth muscle relaxant, but its use is now limited due to adverse

side effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

Amiodarone Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic medication used to treat and prevent a number of types of cardiac dysrhythmias. This includes ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), and wide complex tachycardia, as well as atrial fibril ...

and

cromoglycate Cromoglicic acid ( INN)—also referred to as cromolyn ( USAN), cromoglycate (former BAN), or cromoglicate—is traditionally described as a mast cell stabilizer, and is commonly marketed as the sodium salt sodium cromoglicate or cromolyn sodium. ...

are synthetic

derivatives The derivative of a function is the rate of change of the function's output relative to its input value. Derivative may also refer to: In mathematics and economics * Brzozowski derivative in the theory of formal languages * Formal derivative, an ...

of khellin with fewer side effects which were developed for use in modern medicine.

Visnagin Visnagin is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C13 H10 O4 It is a furanochromone, a compound derivative of chromone (1,4-benzopyrone) and furan. History '' Ammi visnaga'', the main source for visnagin, has been used in t ...

is another chemical compound found in ''Visnaga daucoides'', which is toxic if ingested in the pure state.

Visnadine Visnadine (or visnadin) is a natural vasodilator. It was first isolated from bishop's weed Bishop's weed is a common name for several plants, all but one of which belong to the plant family Apiaceae. * ''Aegopodium podagraria'', which is an in ...

is a natural vasodilator found in ''Visnaga daucoides.''

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
*
Photo gallery

Fructus Ammi Visnagae
WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants - Volume 3 {{Taxonbar, from1=Q15596411, from2=Q866203 Apioideae Flora of Spain Flora of Israel Flora of Palestine (region) Medicinal plants of Africa Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe Flora of Malta