Hymenocallis littoralis 水鬼蕉

POISONOUS PARTS

Bulbs.⁴

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Amaryllidaceae alkaloids such as lycorine and tazettine; and other toxic plant alkaloids.^2,4

• Mechanism

  Lycorine has emetic effect. Tazettine has mild hypotensive effect.^5,6

• Poisoning Features

  Contact dermatitis, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness. Blurred vision, headache, sweating, perioral numbness, hypotension, convulsion and coma in severe cases.⁷

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment. Correction of fluid and electrolyte disturbances in patients with severe gastrointestinal symptoms.

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Perennial herbs, stout, bulbiferous. Leaves basal, up to 100 × 7.5 cm, midveins impressed adaxially. Scapes up to 1.5 m high. Umbels 3–8-flowered. Perianth tubes 5–13 cm long, greenish white; segments white, 6.5–10 × 0.5–0.7 cm. Staminal cup white, petaloid, up to 3 cm long, free parts of filament green, 4–5 cm long; anthers about 1.8 cm long, versatile. Styles exceeding stamens; stigmas capitate.⁸

MEDICINAL USES

Leaves used in TCM: relax sinews and activate blood, resolve swelling and relieve pain. For external use only.^2,9

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Lycorine and tazettine can be detected by HPLC-DAD, GC-MS and LC-MS/MS.^10–12