STUDIES IN THESCROPHULARIACEAE– PART VIII¹PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OFEUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS

Abstract

The generic name Euphrasia is derived from the Greek Euphrosyne (gladness) due to its use in folk medicine for the treatment of failing eyesight. The use in eye medicine probably originated in the Doctrine of Signatures as the flower bears a resemblance to an eye, the latter gave rise to the vernacular name Eyebright.One of the first records of the use of Eyebright occurred in a 15th century herbal (D a w s o n , 1934). G e r a r d ( W o o d w a r d , 1927) extolls its virtues in the treatment of eye disorders. L e c 1 e r c (1936) stated that an infusion had astringent properties and was soothing in conjunctivitis. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia (1971) lists Euphrasia as a specific treatment for conjunctivitis. Other uses for Eyebright are for the treatment of catarrh ( P o t t e r , 18971, hay fever and bronchial congestion ( G r i e v e , 1931; B e r g e r , 1954). This use is probably due to homeopathy, large doses of the herb causing irritation of the bronchial mucosa promoting copious secretion. The herb is also an ingredient of herbal tobacco ( G r i e v e , 1931). Phytochemical investigations have established the presence of a tannin, euphrastic acid ( P o t t e r , 1897), a 0-glycoside, aucubin ( B r a e k e , 1924; N a t h e r o v a and F i a 1 a , 1960; K r o 1 i k o w s k a , 1960, 1967) together with volatile and fixed * oils, reducing sugars, gallotailnins (M el t o n and S a y r e , 1925; S r e p e l , 1950). B r o d a , J a r o n i e w s k i and S w i a t e k (1960) detected 0.6% caffeic acid in E. .officinalis which they found to have a bacteriostatic action and to inhibit seed germination. M e 1 t o n and S a y r e (1925) attributed the medicinal properties of E. officinalis to aromatic, resinous compounds. Early tests for alkaloids were inconclusive ( M e l t o n and Sayre,-1925) whereas H u l t i n and T o r s e l l (1964) detected 0.003% alkaloid in E. offici17alts and 0.01% in E. frigida. MaterialThe material investigated was a commercial sample containing the dried, coarsely powdered aerial part of three microspecies of Euphrasia officinalis L., namely, E. tremorosa (Per s .) W a 1 1 r., E . confusa, P u g s I . and E. psetrdokerneri P u g s 1. 1 Part VII. H a r k i s s , K. J.: Planta medica 23, 182 (1973).

Euphroside, A New Iridoid Glucoside from Euphrasia salisburgensis HOPPE

“…-The genus Euphrasia consists of about eighty species of which thirteen are native to Switzerland [2]. Earlier investigations on this genus are limited to the identification and/or isolation of aucubin [3] [4], catalpol [5] and melampyroside [6]. As a part of systematic isolation and structure determination of iridoid glycosides from various plants belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae we have now studied the glycosidic constituents of Euphrasia salisburgensis.…”

1‐Acetyl‐3‐[(3R)‐hydroxyfatty acyl]glycerols: Lipid Compounds from Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne and E. tetraquetra (Bréb.) Arrond.

“…Numerous secondary metabolites have been found in E. rostkoviana , such as iridoids , lignans , phenylethanoids , phenolic acids , flavonoids, and tannins . Furthermore, traces of alkaloids and essential oil compounds have been reported . Since studies on E. rostkoviana lipid constituents are still rare , this study shall focus on their closer investigation.…”

Composition and Antimicrobial Activity ofEuphrasia rostkovianaHayne Essential Oil

“…Among the compounds previously identified in E. rostkoviana extracts [ 8 – 10 ], apigenin, luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, caffeic acid, coumaric acid, and rosmarinic acid may be responsible for the antimicrobial action. Although the presence of essential oil (EO) in E. officinalis L. [ 11 ] and E. stricta Kunt [ 12 ] has previously been reported, the composition and bioactivity of the E. rostkoviana EO are unknown. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the eyebright EO against the panel of three Gram-positive bacteria ( Enterococcus faecalis , Staphylococcus aureus , and S. epidermidis ) and three Gram-negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ), and one yeast ( Candida albicans ), organisms commonly associated with eye infections.…”