MERENDERA Ramond Synonym of: Colchicum L.

Family: Colchicaceae (Also sometimes placed in: Liliaceae)

The name Colchicum is derived from the district of Colchis, located on the ancient eastern shore of the Black Sea. The plant and its extracts have been used for centuries in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, dropsy, prostate enlargement, and gonorrhea. Extracts have been used to treat cancers. The first official Pharmacopeia of the United States (1820) listed Colchicum preparation.

Colchicine is the main active principle found in autumn crocus and is present in a concentration of approximately 0.6% of corm. A variety of other related alkaloids have been isolated from the plant, including colchicerine, colchamine, colchicoside, demethyl-3-colchicine, cornigerine, and 2-demethylcolchifoline.
Today the plant is a primary source of colchicine, which is used therapeutically to treat gout and experimentally in cellular chromosomal studies. In addition to its FDA-approved use (gout), colchicine has been used in the following conditions: neurologic disability caused by chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, familial Mediterranean fever, hepatic cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and as adjunctive treatment of primary amyloidosis, Behçet disease, pseudo-gout, skin manifestations of scleroderma, psoriasis, palmo-plantar pustulosis, and dermatitis herpetiformis. Colchicine inhibits normal cell division, specifically by interfering with microtubule growth and mitosis during cell division. It also may interfere with the normal function of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) or the cellular membrane.

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