Habitat, distribution and prospects for the use of Heracleum moellendorffii
Daria Cherniak
Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity FEB RAS, Vladivostok, 690022, Russia
The medicinal plant species have been thoroughly studied in the Far East. But some questions of resource characteristics, biochemical composition and the possibility of using of the medicinal plants remained unclear. This study focuses at Heracleum moellendorffii, a perennial polycarpic megaforb plant, representative of native flora of the Russian Far East. In the native habitats Heracleum moellendorffii grows mostly in the forest clearings, at forest edges, among shrubs and in tall grasses (mixed herbs) within herb layer. Its natural distribution area covers Transbaikalia, Northeast China, Korea and Japan and the southern part of the Russian Far East. Heracleum moellendorffii has long been used as a medicinal plant by the indigenous inhabitants of Primorye and the Amur region. In traditional medicine, the roots of plants are used for treatment both gastrointestinal (colitis, gastritis) and skin diseases. The valuable properties of Heracleum moellendorffii are determined by the presence of biologically active substances, flavonoids, coumarinic compounds as well as essential oils, which possess useful pharmacological qualities in the plant. As reported by some authors, Heracleum moellendorffii, unlike the other representatives of the genus Heracleum, does not have a toxic effect. The toxicity of Heracleum moellendorffii was LD50 = 1.83 ml / 20 g for a mouse.
When determining the percentage in the extract it was stated that the prevailing furocoumarins of Heracleum moellendorffii were detected in such proportions: bergapten - 32.5%, xantotoxin - 25.3% and angelicin - 19.3%. Bergapten and xanthotoxin in the official medicine are used as a drug that increases the sensitivity of the skin to light irradiation and stimulates the formation of the pigment of melanin in it, which contributes to the restoration of skin pigmentation in a number of skin diseases (vitiligo, alimentary and total alopecia, mushroom mycosis, psoriasis). Thus, Heracleum moellendorffii deserves the official status of medicinal plant.