POISONOUS PARTS
Sap.4
TOXICITY
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Toxic Constituents
Hydrangenol.5
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Mechanism
Hydrangenol is a strong irritant to skin.5
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Poisoning Features
Skin contact: allergic contact dermatitis as eczema, fissures and inflammation affecting mainly fingers. Ingestion: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.6–8
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Poisoning Events
Poisoning cases of allergic contact dermatitis after occupational exposure to the sap of H. macrophylla, usually while trimming the plant, have been reported worldwide. Besides, a few cases of accidental ingestion of the leaves of hydrangea leading to acute food poisoning were reported in a restaurant in Japan in 2008. All patients recovered uneventfully.6–8
CLINICAL MANAGEMENT
Supportive treatment. Avoidance of direct contact with the sap in allergic individuals.
IDENTIFICATION FEATURES
Deciduous shrubs, 1–4 m tall. Branchlets robust, with conspicuous lenticels and leaf scars. Leaves opposite, petioles 1–3 cm; leaf blades 7–20 × 4–10 cm, apex shortly acuminate, margin coarsely serrate except the base, glossy adaxially. Corymbose terminal, up to 20 cm in diameter. Flowers white, pink or bluish, mostly sterile. Sterile flowers: sepals 4, 1–2 cm long.9
MEDICINAL USES
Roots, leaves or flowers used in TCM: control malaria, clear heat, remove toxin, kill parasites. Recommended dose: 9–12 g.2
LABORATORY ANALYSIS
Hydrangenol can be detected by LC-MS and NMR.10
