Illicium verum is not widely distributed in the world, mainly in China, Viet Nam and northern Thailand. Guangxi is the main producing area of Illicium verum in China, and its area and output account for 85% of the whole country. Star anise is widely used. Illicium verum fruit is the main raw material of edible spices and medicinal materials, as well as star anise oil, spices and high-grade cosmetics.
Expose the octagon outside the kitchen
-
Huang is an associate professor at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and an expert on Illicium verum. When interviewed by reporters, Huang said that shikimic acid is actually a very common thing. If it weren't for bird flu, if it weren't for shikimic acid extracted from Illicium verum by Roche, a special anti-bird flu drug "Tamiflu", no one would ever pay attention to shikimic acid, and no one would realize that Illicium verum was originally a Chinese medicine.
Huang confirmed that Illicium verum contains an ingredient called shikonin, which has spasmodic effect on human nerves. However, she said that she could not answer whether the mangosteen was related to the side effects of Tamiflu in Japan.
"Star anise? Go home and burn tea eggs. "
Star anise, with pungent taste, regulating qi and relieving pain, warming middle warmer and dispelling cold, has always been an indispensable condiment. Lu Yongxian, a doctor who has worked in Shanghai Yueyang Hospital for more than 40 years, said that star anise can indeed be used as medicine to treat gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting and diarrhea with traditional Chinese medicine. However, Dr. Lu said that he has been in business for more than 40 years and has never seen a prescription with an octagon on it.
Huang also said that Illicium verum is rarely used as medicine, especially the cultivated Illicium verum, which is mainly used for seasoning. Some wild Illicium verum, or Illicium plants, will be used to fight people's rheumatism, but this use is not seen in the Pharmacopoeia.
"Blindly open star anise in the hospital will be laughed at. What is star anise to me?
Let me go back and cook tea eggs. "Dr. Lu said jokingly.
Huang said that the main component of Illicium verum is volatile oil, which makes Illicium verum exude a very fragrant taste. Followed by flavonoids, and finally shikimic acid that was magically fried. The content of shikimic acid in Illicium verum produced in Guangxi is about 65438 02%.
It is a three-point poison, and star anise is no exception.
Huang confirmed that Illicium verum contains an ingredient called shikonin, which has spasmodic effect on human nerves. However, she said that she could not answer whether the mangosteen was related to the side effects of Tamiflu in Japan. Huang said that shikimic acid and shikimic acid have similar names, but they are actually two completely different things. Shikimic acid is an organic acid, while anisin is a sesquiterpene. Although shikimic acid and shikimic acid toxin can be extracted from Illicium verum by methanol, it is not difficult to separate these two substances.
The shikimic acid content in cultivated Illicium verum is very low, but the wild Illicium verum and Illicium plants contain high shikimic acid. But this can only show that star anise contains neurotoxins that cause nerve convulsions and has nothing to do with shikimic acid.
There are many plants that are as "divine" as Illicium verum.
Huang said that in the biological metabolic pathway, there is a metabolism called shikimic acid, which exists in a large number of higher plants and microorganisms. The metabolism of shikimic acid refers to the further synthesis and decomposition of shikimic acid in organisms to generate other compounds. In other words, shikimic acid exists in a large number of higher plants or microorganisms. Because the fruit of Illicium verum contains a lot of shikimic acid, the content of shikimic acid in methanol extract of Illicium verum can reach more than 10%, so it is often used as a resource plant for extracting shikimic acid. "Duffy" uses star anise to extract shikimic acid only because the shikimic acid content of star anise is relatively large, not because star anise itself has any outstanding characteristics in treating bird flu.
In addition to plants, shikimic acid widely exists in microorganisms, and shikimic acid can also be extracted by microbial fermentation. Roche also admitted that part of shikimic acid used in Tamiflu came from E.coli fermentation.
The antiviral component in Tamiflu is a derivative of shikimic acid which is further refined and transformed, but shikimic acid is not resistant to avian influenza virus. It is definitely wrong to say that Illicium verum contains shikimic acid, an important component against avian influenza virus. If shikimic acid can directly resist avian influenza, then there are countless plants in nature that can resist avian influenza, such as pine needles of Pinus massoniana, and there are also many isopropylidene shikimic acid. If you want to snap up star anise blindly, it's actually similar to picking up pine needles of Pinus massoniana.
For the previously published Roche preparation process of Tamiflu, in fact, most of them are the process of extracting shikimic acid from star anise. Huang said that extracting shikimic acid is actually a very easy thing. Basically, it can be done in a slightly qualified laboratory. Shikimic acid is by no means a mystery, and Roche's technical focus is on the further transformation of shikimic acid.
General use of shikimic acid
Huang said that shikimic acid used to be used as a chemical raw material and converted into other chemicals or chemical preparations. China's star anise is exported to Europe every year, especially to German. However, the volatile oil is mainly extracted from Illicium verum as a food additive. Most shikimic acid derivatives are in the experimental stage, but there are many reports on such experiments. Tamiflu should be regarded as an early successful example in the experiment. In 1990s, it was made into shikimic acid derivatives as antiviral drugs.
There are two prospects of shikimic acid, which have attracted much attention in academic circles: one is its antibacterial and antitumor effects. 1987 reported that Japanese scholars found that a compound of shikimic acid had obvious inhibitory effect on HeLacells and Ehrlichascitescarcinoma, and could prolong the survival time of mice inoculated with leukemia cells L 12 10. The other compound has no antagonistic effect on leukemia cell L 12 10, but has certain antagonistic effect on Trichophyton mentagrophytes sTCC 9972. In 1988, Sun Kuailin and others in China conducted a preliminary in vitro antibacterial and antitumor experiment on a synthetic shikimic acid derivative, which proved that this compound has the same properties as di? Mycomycin has a similar inhibitory effect on leukemia cell line L 12 10 in vitro.
The second is the effect on cardiovascular system. Sun Jianning of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and others studied the effects of shikimic acid and its derivatives triacetylshikimic acid and isopropylidene shikimic acid on cardiovascular system, and found that all three compounds have antithrombotic and platelet aggregation inhibition effects, and studied their mechanisms.
Can Illicium verum resist avian influenza virus?
TCM: There is no medical basis.
(2005- 10-2 1)
The local Chinese medicine practitioners interviewed said that there is no scientific basis to show that Illicium verum can prevent or fight avian influenza virus.
The British "Independent" recently reported that the antiviral drug Tamiflu extracted from Illicium verum is in short supply in many European countries.
At present, Tamiflu, which is considered to be the most effective drug against avian influenza, contains refined star anise.
The report also said that although Tamiflu can't prevent bird flu, patients can greatly alleviate their illness after taking it.
Tamiflu is made of shikimic acid extracted from Illicium verum produced in China. The whole production process has ten steps and takes one year to complete.
But not all star anise can be used as raw material. Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical company with Tamiflu patent, claims that only Illicium verum from four provinces in China is suitable for pharmaceutical production.
Dr. Wang Liansheng, a senior lecturer in febrile diseases at Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said in an interview with the Morning Post reporter:
"Tamiflu is extracted from star anise, which makes people worry that if bird flu breaks out locally, people will blindly snap up star anise to prevent it. This is wrong, because there is no clinical experience to show that it can prevent bird flu, so I hope people will not waste natural resources, which will bring some adverse consequences. "
Dr. Hong Liang, president of Chinese Medicine Hospital, also said that star anise is generally used to treat abdominal pain, low back pain and wind-cold, but it is still doubtful whether it can resist bird flu.
Li Shuquan, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy, School of Science, National University of Singapore, also believes that although there are rumors that Illicium verum can prevent bird flu, there are no drugs that can successfully treat bird flu on the market at present, so it is uncertain whether Illicium verum can prevent bird flu.
He said: "At this stage, does the star anise itself have?"
Utilization and harvest of Illicium verum leaves
February 2005-1211:54: 00 Reading times: 364.
Illicium verum leaves are used to produce fennel oil, also known as fennel oil. Every 100 kg of fresh leaves can produce 0.8- 1.0 kg of star anise oil. Illicium verum fruit also contains Illicium verum oil, and its oil content is higher than that of Illicium verum leaves. However, Illicium verum is a famous specialty in China and enjoys a high reputation in the world. It is one of the traditional export commodities in China, so it is rarely used to steam oil.
Illicium verum planting can be divided into fruit-picking forest and steaming leaf forest. Due to different business purposes, there are also differences in management methods. Those who manage leaf forests can interplant crops within two or three years of afforestation, which can not only promote the growth of trees, but also reduce the labor force for tending and management. When the trees grow too big for intercropping, soil and fertilizer management such as reclamation and fertilization should be carried out to ensure that the trees grow vigorously and sprout a large number of branches and leaves. In order to dwarf the crown, promote the germination of more lateral branches and form a cluster crown, it is usually cut off at the tree body of 1.3 meters.
The oil content of Illicium verum at different ages is different. Generally, the oil content of old leaves is higher than that of young leaves, so it is best to collect old branches and leaves for more than one year. The season of collecting and steaming oil generally begins after autumn, that is, from June 65438+ 10 to February of the following year. However, if the resources are abundant and the planting area is large, you can use branches and leaves to steam oil all year round. Cut branches and leaves from the base of branches with a sickle or wooden knife, and the length is about 50-70 cm. Branches and leaves are bundled with grass and transported back to steam oil. Generally, there are more than a dozen branches on each tree, so it is advisable to cut only seven or eight branches or half branches. The incision should be neat and smooth, which is conducive to incision healing and sprouting new branches. When collecting branches and leaves, the height of trees should be kept at about1.5-2m. Generally, the yield of Illicium verum leaves is less within three to five years after planting, and each plant can receive about 2 kilograms. From the sixth to the twentieth year, it is a strong age, and each plant can receive about 3 kilograms. After that, the output decreased year by year, and it aged and died in 50 or 60 years.
ki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-MFZA200406025.htm