Swertia japonica
| Swertia japonica | |
|---|---|
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| Swertia japonica in Mount Ibuki | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Gentianaceae |
| Genus: | Swertia |
| Species: | S. japonica
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| Binomial name | |
| Swertia japonica | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Synonymy
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Swertia japonica, also known as senburi (センブリ), is a biennial plant species in the family Gentianaceae. It is one of the most used medicinal herbs in Japan.
Description
[edit]Swertia japonica is a biennial plant native mainly in Japan[2] but can also be found natively in Korea and China.[3] It has linear leaves and blooms with small white flowers with a corolla diameter of 2 to 3 centimeters. The flower has purple veins and five petals.[4][5][6] The plant can grow from 5 to 50 centimeters in height[7][8] and was given the name senburi (センブリ) because it is said that it tastes bitter even after boiling it a thousand times.[5][9] It grows in the wild in meadows and mountains across Japan and is harvested as a medicinal herb.[8] Swertia japonica was first domesticated in the 1970s in Nagano Prefecture; in 2007, 76% of cultivated Swertia japonica in Japan was produced there, with the rest in Kochi Prefecture.[10]
The plant is a biennial plant, a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Seedlings of the plant produce several internodes during their first year, which elongate after the spring of the second year. The plant can be harvested by October when the flowers open.[11] The plant's seed is tiny and does not germinate stably, which makes the plant easily defeated by weeds.[10][8] The principal constituents found in Swertia japonica are saponins such as swertiamarin, sweroside, amarogentin, amaroswerin, and gentiopicroside.[2] The plant also contains secoiridoids, phenyl glucosides, flavonoids, and xanthones.[12]
The traditional medicinal form of Swertia japonica is known as tōyaku (当薬) in Japan. According to the book Comprehensive Natural Products II: Chemistry and Biology, it is considered to be one of the most popular medicinal herbs, and one of the bitterest herbs in Japan.[2] It was first listed as a medicinal herb on the second edition of the Japanese Pharmacopeia in 1892 as a substitute for Gentian, but was only officially included in the fourth edition in 1920.[9] It is used as a digestive stimulant[2] and to treat gastrointestinal diseases such as diarrhea and nausea,[13] and has also been found to be an effective anticholinergic.[14] According to Wakan Sansai Zue, during the Edo Period the herb was used to wash clothes with boiled water as an insecticide for fleas and lice. It was also mixed with glue to be used on byōbu to prevent insects from eating them.[5][9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Swertia japonica (Schult.) Makino". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Liu, Hung-Wen; Mander, Lewis (March 5, 2010). Comprehensive Natural Products II: Chemistry and Biology. Elsevier. p. 650. ISBN 978-0-08-045382-8. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ^ Komatsu, Manki; Tomimori, Tsuyoshi; Ito, Michiko (1967). "Studies on the Constituents of Swertia japonica.I. On the Structures of Swertisin and Isoswertisin". Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 15 (3): 263–269. doi:10.1248/cpb.15.263. ISSN 0009-2363. PMID 6075478.
- ^ "Nishi Kanka-kei ni Saita Senburi Ken no Reddo Dēta Bukku de Junzetsumetsukigu" 西寒霞渓に咲いたセンブリ 県のレッドデータブックで準絶滅危惧 [Senburi flowers blooming in the West Kankakei are listed as near-threatened in the prefecture's Red Data Book]. The Asahi Shimbun. November 19, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c Isoda, Susumu. "Senburi Swertia japonica MAKINO (Rindō-ka)" センブリSwertia japonica MAKINO （ リンドウ科 ） [Senburi Swertia japonica MAKINO (Gentianaceae)]. The Phamaceutical Society of Japan. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ Mission News. D.C. Greene. 1914. p. 36.
- ^ Yoichi, Watanabe (November 2, 2023). "The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Swertia japonica (Schult.) Makino (Gentianaceae)". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 8 (11): 1179–1182. doi:10.1080/23802359.2023.2275335. PMC 10769539. PMID 38188429. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Senburi to Iu Yakusō o Gozonji Desu ka?" センブリという薬草をご存知ですか？ [Have you heard of the medicinal herb called Senburi?]. Nagano Prefecture Official Website. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c センブリ [Senburi]. Toho University. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Kaneko, M.; Tsukagoshi, S.; Ikegami, F.; Yanagisawa, K.; Motoki, S.; Hagihara, Y. (March 2014). "Effect of Cultivars, Plant Age and Altitude of Production Site on Swertiamarin Content in Swertia Japonica". Acta Horticulturae (1023): 295–300. doi:10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1023.43.
- ^ Kubo, Michinori; Fukada, Shinzo; Katsushiro, Tadahisa. Yakusō Nyūmon 薬草入門 [Introduction to Medicinal Herbs]. Hoikusha. p. 25. ISBN 9784586505159.
- ^ Rahman, Atta-ur (July 24, 1995). Studies in Natural Products Chemistry: Structure and Chemistry (Part D). Elsevier. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-08-054198-3.
- ^ Kimura, Yoshiyuki; Sumiyoshi, Maho (September 1, 2011). "Effects of Swertia japonica extract and its main compound swertiamarin on gastric emptying and gastrointestinal motility in mice". Fitoterapia. 82 (6): 827–833. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2011.04.008. PMID 21571047.
- ^ Yamahara, Johji; Kobayashi, Makoto; Matsuda, Hisashi; Aoki, Shunji (May 1991). "Anticholinergic action of Swertia japonica and an active constituent". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 33 (1–2): 31–35. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(91)90157-9. PMID 1943170.
