There are several species belonging to the genus Rheum which are used for both laxative-stimulating and aperitif purposes. The most used species are Rheum officinalis And Rheum palmatum; in particular, the most valuable and used variety is the "tanguticum'.
Attention: New European Regulation of 18 March 2021
On April 8, 2021, the ban on marketing foods and food supplements containing hydroxyanthracenes and their derivatives, a family of molecules contained in various plants, such as aloe, cassia, rhubarb and senna, came into force.
More in detail, the new European Regulation of March 18, 2021 - which came into force, precisely, April 8, 2021 - modifies Annex III of Regulation (EC) No. 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council to as regards the botanical species containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives.
The full text can be consulted by clicking here. However, we can summarize the main points as follows:
- The following are added to the list of substances whose use in food is prohibited (Annex III part A of the aforementioned regulation):
- Aloe-emodin and all preparations in which this substance is present;
- Emodin and all preparations in which this substance is present;
- Preparations based on leaves of Aloe species containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives;
- Dantrone and all preparations in which this substance is present.
- The following are added to the list of substances whose use in food is subject to Community surveillance (Annex III part C):
- Preparations based on the root or rhizome of Rheum palmatum L., Rheum officinale Baillon and their hybrids containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives;
- Preparations based on leaves or fruits of Cassia senna L. containing derivatives of hydroxyanthracene;
- Preparations based on bark of Rhamnus frangula L. o Rhamnus purshiana A.D. containing derivatives of hydroxyanthracene.
Depending on the variety and characteristics of the species, this panicle may have a red or white color of its flowers, or white-greenish or white-yellowish.
The perennial organ is the rhizome and it has a particular herbal importance in plants that are at least four years old.
o in the stove: the product dried on racks is considered more valuable; this means that the method of drying represents an important artificial factor in determining the quality of the drug.Another determining factor for the quality of the rhubarb drug, this time natural, is its origin.The plant, in fact, despite having Chinese origins, is cultivated a little throughout Southeast Asia. The rhubarb of Chinese origin, in particular from Chinese counties on the Atlantic coast or the Sea of China, is the most valuable, to the detriment of drugs from inland areas.
Rhubarb is a drug which, depending on the different qualities (determined by the age of the plant, the place of origin and the drying methods), can present, to a greater or lesser extent, the following morphological characteristics:
- The drug has a more or less bright yellow internal part which is sometimes characterized by a thin yellow powder;
- The external part, on the other hand, characterized by the bark, is blackish-brown in color, sometimes even eliminated.
If the rhubarb drug is observed under the microscope, reddish spots are noted, characterized by a different morphology that distinguishes them in supernumerary vascular bundles, typical of a rhizome, and medullary rays or stellar bodies, structures easily identifiable due to the fact that they are surrounded by a amyliferous sheath. This amyliferous sheath surrounds particularly reddish cells that contain anthraquinones and may belong to supernumerary vascular structures or to medullary rays.
These morphological description criteria are those that must be taken up in the drug quality assessment.
and this occurs particularly in the leaves, which are not really drugs, but are used by certain populations in the production of jams, juices or whatever.The whitish sheath can be characterized not only by starch, but also by calcium oxalate crystals, in this case it will take the name of oxaliferous sheath.
Furthermore, rhubarb contains not only anthraquinones, but also flavonoid compounds (which make up the yellow powder), and tannins, which are important from the herbal point of view because they give the phytocomplex an interesting and versatile use projection compared to other anthraquinone drugs.
and eupeptic, but also as a drug with astringent properties, which limits the laxative action of the drug itself. This is also the reason why rhubarb - among the various anthraquinone drugs, in relation to the intensity of the laxative effect and unwanted - is less active from a laxative-stimulating point of view.
As anticipated, tannins counteract the activity of anthraquinones, so the effect of the rhubarb phytocomplex is much more easily modulated than other drugs. Tannins are present in all tissues of the drug, outside the red colored structures.
Rhubarb is also used by the liqueur industry for its bitter-tonic properties.
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