What are the side effects of Curculigo?

When many people choose to use a medicinal material, they will first be concerned about whether the medicine has side effects and what are the harms to the body after taking it. In this way, many people will carefully choose this medicine for themselves to eat. Everyone has heard of Curculigo, which is one of the precious medicinal materials and is often used to treat some bad diseases. When our body has many functions, this Curculigo is also called Codonopsis pilosula. Many people know its functions. So what are the side effects of this Curculigo?

Side effects: If taken in excess, Curculigo may have toxic side effects on the heart and blood system, causing heart rate disorders, cardiac depression and paralysis.

The role of Curculigo

Effects on immune function

1. Effect on macrophage phagocytosis: Mice were given 70% alcohol extract of Curculigo orchioides 10, 20 g/kg, once a day for 7 consecutive days. On the 5th day after administration, 2 ml of 0.4% glycogen was intraperitoneally injected, and 1 hour after the last administration, 2% chicken red blood cell suspension was intraperitoneally injected.

1 ml, and the mice were killed 2 hours later. The phagocytic function was determined according to the method in the literature (Zhang Yunfen et al., Journal of Beijing Medical College, 1979). The results showed that Curculigo could significantly increase the phagocytic percentage and phagocytic index of mouse peritoneal macrophages compared with the control group.

2. Effect on the percentage of T lymphocytes in normal and immune-suppressed mice: The percentage of T lymphocytes in mice was determined by the esterase method (Department of Histo-Embryology, Nanjing Railway Medical College, Chinese Medical Journal, 1980). The results showed that Curculigo could not increase the percentage of T lymphocytes in normal mice, but had a significant effect on the decrease of T lymphocytes in mice with suppressed immune function caused by cyclophosphamide.

3. Curculigo water extract can promote the production of antibodies and prolong their efficacy. Curculigo glycosides promote the proliferation of macrophages and improve their phagocytic function, which can be considered to enhance immune function.

Effects on the central nervous system

1. Effect of sodium pentobarbital on sleep time: 30 minutes after intraperitoneal injection of 10 g/kg of curculigo alcohol extract to mice, 40 mg/kg of sodium pentobarbital was injected intraperitoneally, and the sleep time of mice was recorded. The results showed that the average sleep time of mice in the drug-treated group and the control group (normal saline) was 304.9±24.2 and 63.4±11.6 (minutes), respectively. The results showed that Curculigo could significantly prolong sleep time (P<0.001).

2. Effect on the convulsive effect of picrotoxin: 30 minutes after the intraperitoneal injection of Curculigo orchioides to mice, 200 mg/kg of picrotoxin was injected intraperitoneally, and the latency time of clonic convulsion in mice was recorded. The results showed that the latency time of convulsion in the Curculigo group and the control group was 24.38±3.78 and 7.57±0.63 minutes, respectively, and the difference between the two groups was very significant (P<0.001). This indicates that Curculigo can significantly delay the latency period of convulsions in mice induced by picrotoxin.

3. The alkali contained in Curculigo can significantly prolong the latency of conditioned reflex when injected intraperitoneally at 5 mg/kg into rats, causing partial disappearance of positive conditioned reflex and then recovery. Injection of 2 mg/kg into mice has a significant sedative effect. A dose of 12 mg/kg can prolong the hypnotic time of pentobarbital and has significant analgesic and antipyretic effects.

In fact, Curculigo is a very precious medicinal material, and its side effects are generally very small. As long as you use Curculigo reasonably and formally, the side effects will be greatly reduced. The amount used must be taken according to the doctor's instructions. When taking Curculigo, you must also pay attention to the combination of medicines and avoid taking incompatible foods, as this will cause considerable harm to your body.