Great Blue Lobelia
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Lobelia siphilitica, found throughout the US and Canada in wetlands and swamps, is a herbaceous perennial in the Bellflower Family. It grows up to three feet tall, with long racemes of blue flowers, a favorite of hummingbirds. Historically, Native Americans used the plant’s roots and leaves to treat coughs, nosebleeds, headaches, colds, and, as its scientific name would suggest, syphilis (Anderson, 2003; Folquitto et al., 2019). Ingesting Great Blue Lobelia leaves can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or, in larger amounts, death. Modern use includes extracting an alkaloid, lobeline, used in over-the-counter smoking cessation aids, although there is little evidence of its effectiveness for smoking cessation (Stead & Hughes, 2012). However, lobeline and related piperidine alkaloids are used in several antidepressant and opioid medications (Brown et al., 2016; Vitaku et al., 2014).
Historical Use
Historical information on the use of Great Blue Lobelia can be found in William Barton’s Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States written in 1818. Barton describes the plant as “rank-smelling, particularly the root.” He indicates the root was used by Native Americans to treat syphilis, but also discredits that, noting the lack of evidence for the efficacy of such treatments. Indeed, he reports, Native Americans used the root in combination with many other plants to treat syphilis.
Latest Research
- 2,6-Disubstituted Piperidine Alkaloids with Neuroprotective Activity from Hippobroma longifloraby Shu-Rong Chen on December 9, 2022 at 11:00 am
Three new alkaloids, hipporidine A (1: ), hipporidine B (2: ), and (-)-lobeline N-oxide (3: ), were discovered from the whole plant of Hippobroma longiflora together with five known compounds (4: -8: ). Their 2,6-disubstituted piperidine structures were established based on the HRESIMS, NMR (COSY, HMBC, HSQC, NOESY), and UV spectroscopic data. Hipporidines A (1: ) and B (2: ) possess a rare 1,3-oxazinane moiety. Compound 3: is the N-oxide derivative of (-)-lobeline (6: ). Moreover, the absolute…
- Taxonomic and functional profiling of Indian smokeless tobacco bacteriome uncovers several bacterial-derived risks to human healthby Akanksha Vishwakarma on November 21, 2022 at 11:00 am
Smokeless tobacco (ST) consumption keeps human oral health at high risk which is one of the major reasons for oral tumorigenesis. The chemical constituents of the ST products have been well discussed; however, the inhabitant microbial diversity of the ST products is less explored especially from south Asian regions. Therefore, the present investigation discusses the bacteriome-based analysis of indigenous tobacco products. The study relies on 16S amplicon-based bacteriome analysis of Indian…
- Simulated pollinator decline has similar effects on seed production of female and hermaphrodite Lobelia siphilitica, but different effects on selection on floral traitsby Gavin C Hossack on November 19, 2022 at 11:00 am
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that pollinator decline will not have a larger effect on either seed production or selection on floral traits of female plants. As such, any effect of pollinator decline on seed production may be similar for gender dimorphic and monomorphic species. However, the potential for floral traits of females (and thus of gender dimorphic species) to evolve in response to pollinator decline may be limited.
- Overall and cause-specific mortality rates among men and women with high exposure to indoor air pollution from the use of smoky and smokeless coal: a cohort study in Xuanwei, Chinaby Teja Nagaradona on November 15, 2022 at 11:00 am
CONCLUSIONS: Cause-specific mortality burden differs in XW based on the lifetime use of different coal types. These observations provide evidence that eliminating all coal use for indoor cooking and heating is an important next step in improving public health particularly in developing countries.
- From cis-Lobeline to trans-Lobeline: Study on the Pharmacodynamics and Isomerization Factorsby Huan-Hua Xu on October 14, 2022 at 10:00 am
Lobeline is an alkaloid derived from the leaves of an Indian tobacco plant (Lobelia inflata), which has been prepared by chemical synthesis. It is classified as a partial nicotinic agonist and has a long history of therapeutic usage ranging from emetic and respiratory stimulant to tobacco smoking cessation agent. The presence of both cis and trans isomers in lobeline is well known, and many studies on the relationship between the structure and pharmacological activity of lobeline and its analogs…
References
Anderson, M. K. (2003). Great Blue Lobelia Plant Guide.
Brown, D. P., Rogers, D. T., Gunjan, S. K., Gerhardt, G. A., & Littleton, J. M. (2016). Target-directed discovery and production of pharmaceuticals in transgenic mutant plant cells. J Biotechnol, 238, 9-14.
Folquitto, D. G., Swiech, J. N. D., Pereira, C. B., Bobek, V. B., Halila Possagno, G. C., Farago, P. V., Miguel, M. D., Duarte, J. L., & Miguel, O. G. (2019). Biological activity, phytochemistry and traditional uses of genus Lobelia (Campanulaceae): A systematic review. Fitoterapia, 134, 23-38.
Stead, L. F., & Hughes, J. R. (2012). Lobeline for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2012(2), Cd000124.
Vitaku, E., Smith, D. T., & Njardarson, J. T. (2014). Analysis of the structural diversity, substitution patterns, and frequency of nitrogen heterocycles among U.S. FDA approved pharmaceuticals. J Med Chem, 57(24), 10257-10274.
Other Resources
Natural Medicines record: Lobelia. (Access to UI only)