Ethnobotanical, historical and histological evaluation of Helleborus L. genetic resources used in veterinary and human ethnomedicine

Viktória Lilla Balázs,Szilvia Stranczinger,Rita Filep,Tünde Ambrus,Marianna Kocsis,Ágnes Farkas,Nóra Papp

doi:10.1007/s10722-019-00876-5

Viktória Lilla Balázs, Szilvia Stranczinger + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00876-5

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Abstract

The use of hellebore (Helleborus) species for medical purposes has a long-standing tradition. Our work aimed at providing a historical survey of their medicinal application in Europe, and data on current ethnobotanical use of H. purpurascens Waldst. et Kit. in Transylvania (Romania), compared with earlier records of this region and other European countries. While the chemistry and pharmacology of hellebores have been researched extensively, little is known about their anatomical traits. Thus, we intended to provide a detailed histological analysis of Helleborus odorus Waldst. et Kit., H. purpurascens, and H. niger L., based on transverse sections of aerial parts and root. Our survey revealed that H. purpurascens is known for immunotherapy, wounds, and as antiemetic drug in ethnoveterinary medicine, but not in human therapy in the study area. Distinctive histological characters included diverse stele structure in the root; sclerenchymatous bundle caps around compound vascular bundles in the stem and the main leaf veins of H. odorus; and amphistomatic leaves in H. purpurascens. Quantitative vegetative traits also revealed significant differences among species, but they may reflect environmental influences, too. In all three species the sepal was hypostomatic with mesomorphic stomata, while the modified petal comprised a proximal nectar-producing and a distal non-secretory part. Distinctive floral traits included shape of modified petal, presence of papillae and thickness of non-secretory part; as well as ornamentation of tricolpate pollen grains. Our findings suggest that the anatomy of various plant parts varies slightly with each species, including ethnomedicinally known H. purpurascens, even though the basic structure is the same within the genus.

Highlights

Hellebores (Helleborus L.), belonging to Ranunculaceae, are perennial herbaceous plants widely spread in Europe and Asia (Tutin et al 2010)
In our Transylvanian survey, compared to earlier records of this region and other European countries, ethnobotanical data were documented only on H. purpurascens, which is widespread in the study area
Actual traditional use of the root of H. purpurascens was documented as immunostimulant therapy and externally only in ethnoveterinary medicine as significant drug in ‘‘home pharmacy’’ (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Hellebores (Helleborus L.), belonging to Ranunculaceae, are perennial herbaceous plants widely spread in Europe and Asia (Tutin et al 2010). Helleborus species were mentioned as ‘‘humior’’ in 1395 (Racz 2010), as ‘‘hunyor’’ in the first Hungarian handwritten medical work entitled Ars Medica The data presented here derive from Ars medica Electronica (Szaboand Biro 2000)—a digital database based on the three existing copies of the six volumes of this ‘‘Ars medica’’ prepared for printing around 1577, but never published. This compilation makes a very clear distinction between ‘‘feher hunyor’’ (Veratrum album L.) and ‘‘fekete hunyor’’ (Veratrum nigrum L. i.e. between the plants belonging to Veratrum and Helleborus species). The genus was described in Species Plantarum (Linnaeus 1753)

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