Apiaceae

Ammi majus and Ammi visnaga

Ammi majus is also known as bishop’s weed or large bullwort, and Ammi visnaga as toothpick weed. They have numerous active ingredients, including ammirin, angenomalin, kellactone, majurin, and marmesin, furanocoumarins (psoralen, bergapten, isopimpinellin, imperatorin, umbelliprenin, xanthotoxin), and flavonol triglycosides (kaempferol, isorhamnetin). In modern times they have been used to treat vitiligo, since they contain psoralens, and have several different pharmacological effects in experimental animals, including hypoglycemic effects [ ], antischistosomal effects [ ], and inhibition of nephrolithiasis [ ].

Injudicious use of the fruit of A. majus in combination with skin exposure to the sun can cause severe phototoxic dermatitis, owing to the presence of psoralens [ ].

• IgE-mediated rhinitis and contact urticaria were caused by exposure to bishop’s weed in a 31-year-old atopic female florist [ ]. A skin prick test with bishop’s weed flowers gave an 8 mm wheal, and the bishop’s weed-specific serum IgE concentration was 9.7 PRU/ml (RAST class 3).

Prolonged use or overdosing of the fruit of Ammi visnaga can cause nausea, dizziness, constipation, loss of appetite, headache, pruritus, and sleeping disorders.

Angelica sinensis

Angelica sinensis , known in China as “dong quai” or “dang gui,” contains antioxidants [ ], inhibits the growth of cancer cells in vitro [ ] and stimulates immune function in experimental animals [ ]. It has been used to treat amenorrhea [ ] and menopausal hot flushes [ ], and to reduce pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [ ].

Angelica sinensis can cause hypertension [ ].

• A 32-year-old woman, 3 weeks post-partum, developed acute headache, weakness, light-headedness, and vomiting. Her blood pressure was 195/85 mmHg. She had taken dong quai for postpartum weakness and said that she had not been taking any other medicines. Her 3-week-old son’s blood pressure was raised to 115/69. Dong quai medication of the mother and breast-feeding of the child were discontinued and the blood pressure normalized in both patients within 48 hours.

Centella asiatica

Centella asiatica (gotu kola, spadeleaf) has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to improve memory and treat several neurological disorders and may improve cognition and mood [ ]. It enhanced phosphorylation of cyclic AMP response element binding protein in rat neuroblastoma cells expressing amyloid beta peptide [ ], and an aqueous extract inhibited phospholipase activities in rat cerebellum [ ]. Centella also contains a triterpene, madecassoside, which facilitates the healing of burn wounds in mice [ ].