Cascara - Rhamnus purshiana

Family: Rhamnaceae - Buckthorn Family

Hazards

• Anthraquinone laxatives: Intestinal pain and severe diarrhea are symptoms of overdose and loss of fluid/electrolytes. As a laxative it "...should only be used if no effect can be obtained through a change of diet or by the use of bulk-forming laxatives...stimulant laxatives should not be used in patients with abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting. Use the "...smallest dosage necessary to maintain a soft stool."^[WHO,2,1999] It is considered suitable for delicate and elderly persons and is very useful in cases of chronic constipation[4]. ^[PFAF]
  • Risk of Laxative Abuse: "The use of stimulant laxatives for longer than 2 weeks requires medical supervision. Rectal bleeding or failure to have a bowel movement after taking a laxative may indicate a serious condition. Chronic use may result in aggravation of constipation with laxative dependence, a need for increased dosages and disturbances of water and electrolyte balance..."^[WHO,2,1999]
• Fresh/Unprepared bark: "Use of the fresh bark of Rhamnus purshiana may cause severe vomiting, with possible abdominal spasms (23). One case of occupational asthma and rhinitis has been reported (42)." ^[WHO,2,1999] "Fresh cascara can cause a bloody diarrhoea and vomiting. It should be aged for at least 1 year or heat treated [301]." ^[PFAF] Used as a laxative, "The bark...was soaked in boiling water, and the extract drunk..." ^{[Turner&Bell2]}
• Further Contraindications: It "...should not be administered to patients with intestinal obstruction and stenosis, atony, inflammatory diseases of the colon (such as ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn disease), appendicitis, severe dehydration with water and electrolyte depletion, or chronic constipation (20, 24, 27). ^[WHO,2,1999] Contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation, patients with abdominal disorders, and children under the age of 10.^[WHO,2,1999]
• Pseudomelanosis coli: A harmless discoloration of urine is observed in individuals taking this herb for prolonged periods. It should subside within 4-12 months of the drug's cessation.^[WHO,2,1999]
• Drug Interactions: "Neuromuscular dysfunction may arise particularly in the case of concomitant use of cardiotonic glycosides (e.g. digoxin, digitalis or strophanthin), diuretics, corticosteroids or liquorice root (27)." ^[WHO,2,1999] Loss of potassium associated with prolonged use of Cascara may potentiate arrhythmias when given concomitantly with antiarrhythmic medications.^[PDR]

Food

• Fruit - "raw or cooked [2, 118, 161, 257]. A thin, rather juicy flesh[82]. It is sometimes eaten[183]. There is some debate as to whether the fruit is edible or slightly toxic [226]. The fruit contains 2 - 3 small seeds[229]. An extract of the bark, with the bitterness removed (by drying?) is a common flavouring for soft drinks, baked goods and ice cream[183]." ^[PFAF]Eaten sparingly. Too many are said to cause diarrhea.^{[Turner, Kuhnlein]}
• Coffee: - California Coffee Berry and Cascara Sagrada (Rhamnus californica and R. purshiana) One gallon of the fresh seeds can be piled outdoors and left until the flesh rots away. Wash, dry over medium heat, ground, and roasted till a "deep brown" is achieved. They can be used as drip coffee. The result has been described as "...identical to the taste, look, and smell of fresh coffee..." or less armomatic, but with much the same flavor.^[Nyerges]

Other Uses

• Dye: A green dye is obtained from the bark[99, 118, 257PFAF]. ^[PFAF]
• Wood: Light, soft, not strong. Used for making the handles of small tools[82, 99]. ^[PFAF]

Medicinal Uses

"This herb, which has had a place in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia since 1890, is one of the most popular herbal medicines in the world. It is included in many over-the-counter laxatives and is prescribed more than 2.5 million times a year."^[PDBHM]

"As well as its uses as a laxative, it is taken internally in the treatment of digestive complaints, haemorrhoids, liver problems and jaundice[238]." ^[PFAF] "Described in folk medicine, as an internal treatment for diabetes and used externally for skin irritations (6)." ^[WHO,2,1999]

• Laxative: The bark is harvested on a commercially basis [266]^[PFAF]and must be dried for at least a year before use.[95,213]^{[PFAF][PDBHM]} Three year old bark is considered to be the best age[4].^[PFAF]
• Tonic: "A small piece of bark soaked in cold water for 12 hours made an excellent tonic (Paul, 1968)."^{[Turner&Bell1]}

Description

Synonyms

• Frangula purshiana. ^[PFAF]

General "Deciduous shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall..."[IFBC]^[E-flora] "thin, smooth, silver-grey, numbingly bitter bark." ^[PCBC2004]
Flowers "...stalked cluster of 8-25 male and/or female flowers; petals 5..."[IFBC]^[E-flora] "...greenish, inconspicuous, bearing both stamens and pistils..." ^[HNW] "...stamens: 8-50 in stalked, umbrella-shaped clusters in the axils of leaves." ^[PCBC2004]
Fruits Berries. Black to purplish-black; seeds 3.[IFBC] ^[E-flora]
Leaves "Alternate, egg-shaped to broadly elliptic..."[IFBC]^[E-flora] "...may seem almost opposite on new growth...young plants may retain their foliage over mild winters".^[PCBC2004]
Habitat Streambanks, thickets, woodlands and forests.[IFBC]^[E-flora] Open woods.^[HNW]
Range Common in SW B.C.[IFBC]^[E-flora] "...often shady sites...swampy bottomlands with red alder..."^[PCBC2004]
Status Native. ^[E-flora]

Ethnobotany

Medicinal Use:
Bark

• Preparation: "The bark was collected in strips in spring or summer and dried. The following summer it was pounded and steeped in cold water. Usually a handful of bark per quart of water was used (Densmore, 1939). This mixture, brought to a boil, was drunk as a cure for constipation and other ailments." ^{[Turner&Bell1]}
• "This is used chiefly in habitual constipation. It softens the stools without noticeable irritation. The susceptibility is not lost with use; on the contrary, the establishment of regular habits usually permits it to be gradually withdrawn. By its bitter taste, it acts also as a stomachic." ^[PDBHM] It "...restores tone to the bowel muscles..."[226,244]^[PFAF] and "has tonic properties, promoting gastric digestion and appetite[1, 4, 11, 21, 57, 94, 95, 165]^[PFAF]
• Dosage: fluid extract: 15 drops 3x/day or 1/2 half teaspoonful in the evening. "In the aromatic fluid-extract, which is much more pleasant, some of the bitter and cathartic principles have been destroyed by an alkali (magnesia). Twice the dose may be given" ^[PDBHM]

Nutritional

Cascara – Rhamnus purshiana ^[Dukephyt]

Pharmacology

Phytochemistry

"The fresh bark of cascara sagrada contains free anthrones," anthrone - glycosides, "aloe - emodin - O - glycoside, and dianthrones... During the drying process, the free anthrones and their corresponding O - glycosides are oxidized...to diminish the emetic properties of the bark extract. Bacterial...activity converts the inactive anthraquinone - O -glucosides into the pharmacologically active aglycon anthrones." ^[TNS]

• hydroxyanthracene glycosides (6–9%) ^[WHO,2,1999]
  • "Of these, 70–90% are C-10 glycosides, with the 8-O-glycosides, aloins A and B, and 11-desoxyaloins A and B (chrysaloins A and B) accounting for 10–30%." "Other major hydroxyanthracene glycosides (10–20%) include the hydroxyanthraquinones, chrysophanol-8-O-glucoside and aloe-emodin-8-O-glucoside (7, 17–19)." ^[WHO,2,1999]
• hydroxyanthraquinone glycosides 8 – 10% ^[TNS]
  • "The main anthraquinone compounds in the bark extract from cascara sagrada are aloe - emodin, chrysophanol, and rhein." ^[TNS]
• "Aloe-emodin, found in cascara sagrada, is being researched as a possible treatment for leukemia." ^[PDBHM]

Cultivation

"Succeeds in any reasonably good soil in sun or partial shade[11, 238]. This species is hardy to at least -15°c[238]. Closely related to R. frangula[11]. This species is cultivated as a medicinal plant in N. America[57, 60, 61] and is also collected from the wild[238]. It is becoming rare in the wild because of over-collection[238]. The flowers are produced in small clusters on shoots of the current year's growth[82]. A good bee plant[94]. The species in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200]." ^[PFAF]

Propagation

"Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame. Stored seed will require 1 - 2 months cold stratification at about 5° and should be sown as early in the year as possible in a cold frame or outdoor seedbed[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[113]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, autumn in a frame. Layering in early spring[4]."^[PFAF]

Uses of Other Related Sp.

Rhamnus - Buckthorn

Family: Rhamnaceae - Buckthorn Family

Shrub, small tree, < 10 m. Stem: branches alternate, stiff or flexible; twigs generally not thorn-tipped; winter bud scales present, generally ± 3 mm. Leaf: scattered along branches or clustered on short-shoots, deciduous or evergreen; stipules generally deciduous; petioles generally glabrous; blade veins prominent or not. Inflorescence: flowers 1 or in cyme-like clusters in axils. Flower: unisexual (bisexual), generally on separate plants, generally < 3 mm; hypanthium bell-shaped to cup-like, 2–3 mm wide; sepals 4–5, thin, spreading, not keeled adaxially; petals 0 or 4–5; disk thin, adhering to hypanthium; ovary appearing superior or partly inferior, chambers 2–4, each 1-ovuled, style 1, stigma 2–4-lobed. Fruit: drupe, 2–3[4]-stoned.
110 species: temperate, few tropics; some of value in medicine or as dyes. (Greek: name for plants of this genus) [Bolmgren & Oxelman 2004 Taxon 53:383–390] W.H. Brewer collected Rhamnus cathartica L., considered invasive in parts of United States, in 1861, but it apparently never naturalized. Other taxa in TJM (1993) moved to Frangula. ^[Jepson]

Local Species;

1. Rhamnus purshiana - Cascara ^{[TSFTK][PCBC]}

The Alder Buckthorn, Rhamnus Frangula, also a native of Europe, is used for "making the best charcoal for the finest gunpowder." It has been introduced in a few swampy places about New York. Its fruit is disagreeable.^[EWP]

"Both R. californica and the closely related R. purshiana have been referred to as cascara sagrada. Today, however, the name cascara sagrada is used most often to designate R. purshiana. Although both species can be used as a laxative, R. purshiana is preferred."^[Nyerges]

References

• DukephytRhamnus purshiana, Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Online Database 21 June 2014. http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=844
• E-flora http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Rhamnus%20purshiana&redblue=Both&lifeform=2 Accessed: 11/28/2014 11:38:58 PM
• [Jepson] John O. Sawyer, Jr, 2013. Rhamnus, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=81104, accessed on Jun 20 2014
• PFAF Rhamnus purshiana, http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rhamnus+purshiana, Accessed Jan 17, 2015
• WHO,2,1999 World Health Organization monographs on selected medicinal plants, Volume 2, WHO, 1999, P. 259- 268