Psoralea corylifolia

Psoralea corylifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Psoralea
Species:	P. corylifolia
Binomial name
	Psoralea corylifolia; L.
Synonyms
	Cullen corylifolium (L.) Medik.; Lotodes corylifolia (L.) Kuntze; Lotodes corylifolium (L.) Kuntze; Psoralea patersoniae Schönl.; Trifolium unifolium Forssk.;

Psoralea corylifolia (Babchi) is a plant used in Indian and Chinese traditional medicine. The seeds of this plant contain a variety of coumarins, including psoralen.

Etymology[]

Psoralea is from the Greek psoraleos meaning 'scabby', and refers to small glands covering the plant. Corylifolia comes from similarity of the leaves to those of Corylus, a genus of tree in northern world regions, such as Sweden.^[1]

Description[]

Psoralea corylifolia grows 50–90 cm tall and is an annual plant. It has pale-purple flowers in short, condensed, axillary spikes. Its corolla is pale purple. Flowers one-seeded fruits. The most distinctive feature is the occurrence of minute brown glands which are immersed in surface tissue on all parts of the plant, giving it a distinctive and pleasant fragrance.^[2]

Habitat and distribution[]

P. corylifolia is native to India and Sri Lanka, and was occasionally cultivated in Arabia for its supposed medicinal properties.^[3]

Chemical constituents[]

P. corylifolia extract contains numerous phytochemicals, including flavonoids (, , , , , , , and ), coumarins (psoralidin, psoralen, and angelicin), meroterpenes (bakuchiol, and ).^[4]

Use in traditional medicine[]

P. corylifolia L., or bu gu zhi in traditional Chinese medicine,^[5] is a herb used as a supposed therapy for several disorders having limited clinical evidence, such as treatment of lichen-induced dermatitis by psoralen extract combined with sunlight exposure.^[6]

References[]

^ G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.
^ G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.
^ G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.
^ Zhao LH, Huang CY, Shan Z, Xiang BG, Mei LH (2005). "Fingerprint analysis of Psoralea corylifolia by HLPC and LC-MS". J Chromatogr B. 821 (1): 67–74. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2005.04.008. PMID 15905140.
^ Cheng, Xia (2001). Easy Comprehension of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Chinese Materia Medica, Canadian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, p343.
^ Atzmony, L; Reiter, O; Hodak, E; Gdalevich, M; Mimouni, D (2016). "Treatments for cutaneous lichen planus: A systematic review and meta-analysis". American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. 17 (1): 11–22. doi:10.1007/s40257-015-0160-6. ISSN 1175-0561. PMID 26507510. S2CID 3711429.

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[1] G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.

[2] G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.

[3] G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman. pp. 174–5. ISBN 978-071570808-8.

[4] Zhao LH, Huang CY, Shan Z, Xiang BG, Mei LH (2005). "Fingerprint analysis of Psoralea corylifolia by HLPC and LC-MS". J Chromatogr B. 821 (1): 67–74. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2005.04.008. PMID 15905140.

[5] Cheng, Xia (2001). Easy Comprehension of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Chinese Materia Medica, Canadian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, p343.

[Atzmony-6] Atzmony, L; Reiter, O; Hodak, E; Gdalevich, M; Mimouni, D (2016). "Treatments for cutaneous lichen planus: A systematic review and meta-analysis". American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. 17 (1): 11–22. doi:10.1007/s40257-015-0160-6. ISSN 1175-0561. PMID 26507510. S2CID 3711429.

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