Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) for COVID-19: A twenty-case series.

In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China, with a rapid increase in cases worldwide. Until now, among several drugs tested, none demonstrated sufficient efficacy for its etiological treatment. Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) is a well-known medicinal plant, traditionally indicated for digestive disorders and topically to remove warts. This study, performed at private offices in São Paulo and Aracaju (Brazil), describes 20 consecutive COVID-19 outpatients treated with greater celandine and their clinical evolution. The patients, aged 14-71 years (median of 41 years), were treated with Chelidonium majus 10% mother tincture, 20-30 drops three times a day for 3-12 days (median of 5 days). Clinical features were assessed during the treatment and at least until 1 week after its end. These cases were considered mild, as most COVID-19 cases. The symptoms were mainly fever, fatigue, cough, sore throat, coryza, anosmia, ageusia, and headache. Ten patients had comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and overweight. Complete or almost complete clinical improvement occurred within 1-9 days of treatment (median of 3 days). There were no adverse events. This casuistry, although small, may inspire other researchers to continue investigating Chelidonium majus as a healing treatment for COVID-19.

Evaluation of pro-apoptotic activity of Chelidonium majus L. and/or gamma-radiation against ehrlich as carcinoma transplanted in mice / Avaliação da atividade pró-apoptótica da Chelidonium majus L. e/ou radiação gama contra o tumor ascítico de ehrlich transplantado em ratos

This study was to evaluate, the pro-apoptotic activity of ethanolic Chelidonium majus L. (CM) leaf extract and/or gamma-radiation in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) bearing mice by measuring tumor volume, apoptotic factors (caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-), angiogenesis factors (matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and MMP-9); tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1), DNA fragmentation, besides histopathological examination. After tumor inoculation, mice received CM (100 mg/body weight/day) on the 10th day and were exposed to whole body -radiation (6Gy) on the 17th day. The data obtained reveales that combining CM with - radiation exposure induce significant regression in tumor growth, up-regulate Bax, caspase-3, TIMP-1 and inhibit Bcl-2, TNF-, MMP-(2 and 9). Cytotoxicity is substantiated by increased DNA-fragmentation (comet assay and DNA content) and histological examination. It could be suggested that combining CM with gamma-radiation increased apoptosis of tumor cells which would help to increase the lifespan of mice.

Este estudo foi realizado para avaliar a atividade pró-apoptótica do extrato etanólico da folha da Chelidonium majus L. (CM) e/ou radiação gama no tumor ascítico de Ehrlich tendo ratos para a medição do volume do tumor, fatores apoptóticos (caspase-3, proteínas Bcl-2 e Bax, fator de necrose tumoral (TNF-)), fatores angiogênicos (metaloproteinase matriz (MMP-2 e MMP-9)); inibidor tecidual de metaloproteinase (TIMP-1), fragmentação de DNA, além de exame histopatológico. Depois da inoculação do tumor, os ratos receberam CM 100 mg/peso corporal/dia no 10º dia e tiverem o corpo completo exposto a radiação gama (6Gy) no 17º dia. Os dados obtidos revelam que combinar CM com exposição à radiação gama induz a uma regressão significativa no crescimento do tumor, regula positivamente Bax, caspase-3, TIMP-1 e inibe Bcl-2, TNF-, MMP-(2 e 9). Citotoxicidade é substanciada pelo aumento da fragmentação do DNA (ensaio cometa e conteúdo de DNA) e exame histopatológico. Poderia ser sugerido que combinar CM com radiação gama aumentou a apoptose das células tumorais o que ajudaria a aumentar a expectativa de vida dos ratos.

Greater Celandine hepatotoxicity: a clinical review.

Herbal hepatotoxicity is a rare and poorly described disease because reported cases are mostly scattered and lack an appropriate causality assessment. We now describe in detail the clinical picture of herbal hepatotoxicity by extracts of Greater Celandine (GC), syn. Chelidonium majus L. from the Papaveraceae family, which contain more than 20 ingredients including various biologically active isoquinoline alkaloids. For this purpose, we analyzed and reviewed published cases of 16 patients from various European countries. In all patients, herbal hepatotoxicity was of probable and highly probable causality for GC, using the original and updated scale of CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences). GC associated hepatotoxicity usually has an acute clinical course exhibiting a hepatocellular pattern of injury and is correlated to an idiosyncratic reaction with its metabolic subtype. Jaundice combined with high values of serum aminotransferases was present in virtually all cases with favourable outcome despite severe clinical course. In conclusion, GC hepatotoxicity is a typical herbal hepatotoxicity with a sound causality track for GC, but there is uncertainty regarding the respective causative compound(s). The present detailed review of GC hepatotoxicity may serve as an example for clinical causality assessments of future cases of liver injury due to other herbs.

Chelidonium

Dr. Cipolla: En nuestra perserante costume de hablar de medicamentos pequeños, hoy vamos a hablar de este famoso pero poco usado medicamento de la Materia Médica.