WHITE WILLOW (SALIX ALBA L.)

	W
	WHITE WILLOW
	*SALIX ALBA L.*

Name
WHITE WILLOW

Scientific Name
SALIX ALBA L.

WHITE WILLOW

Common willow; al.: Silber-Weide; ingl.: White wilow

Crust

The sort You leave includes/understands dioicos trees and shrubs with simple lanceoladas leaves. The flowers, grouped in amentos, are inserted in the armpit of a silky bráctea, have perianto reduced to two nectarios in both sexes. 5 the masculine flowers have from 2 to estambres; the feminine ones have an ovary to unilocular, and the style in two estigmáticas branches.

Origin

Tree very common in Europe (except in the northern regions); ssp. White L., ssp Co-erulea (Sm.) Rech. Fil., ssp. Vitellina (L.) Arcangeli and ssp. Micans (N.J. Andersson) fil Rech.... This last one is specific of Grecia[723 ].

Chemical composition

The willow crust is rich in polifenólicos compounds: catéquicos tannins in variable amount, glucósidos of fenoles simple, acid fenoles and flavonoides: isoquercitrósido, (+) and (-)-5-glucosil naringetol, isosalipurpósido [ 724 ].

Glocósidos of fenoles. The content in heterósidos total varies from the 1 to 12% according to the species, not being the S. Alba the richest species [ 725.726 ]; the content also varies based on the age of the tree [ 734 ]. The mentioned components most frequently are the salicósido one (also denominated salicina, he is glucósido of the salicílico or 2-hidroximetil alcohol fenol), and their esters, phenolic salicortina, glucósido majority (derived from an acid ciclohexenónico alcohol), tremuloidina (salicósido 2'-horseradish tree-zoil), fragilina (6'-acetil salicósido), populina (6'-benzoil salicósido), tremulacina (2'-benzoil salicortina) and salicósido 2'-acetil. Other compounds are generally in low concentrations: derivatives in C6-c3: triandrina (glucósido of the p-hidroxifenilpropenílico alcohol), grandidentatina (that not always is [ 727 ]), siringósido [ 728 ], vimalina (metoxi-triandrina) or in C6-c1: piceósido (glucósido of p-hidroxiacetofenona).

The leaves of white willow have a composition in glucósidos phenolic very seemed: they contain tannins condensed and numerous 729 flavonoides [ ].

Farmacológicos data

The salicósido one can be considered like a prodrug that metaboliza (slowly in physiological conditions) in salicílico alcohol (saligenol) at intestinal level and, after its absorption, this last one oxidizes to salicílico acid 730,735]. The properties of the willow crust are those of the salicilados derivatives: inhibitors of the synthesis of prostaglandins by irreversible inactivación of ciclooxigenasa; these compounds are antiinflammatory acting in initial phase of the inflammation (inhibition of the increase of the hair permeability, diminution of the migration of polinucleares), antipyretics (but nonhipotermizantes), slightly analgesic by a central and simultaneously peripheral action, inhibiting of the 731.732.736 aggregation plaquetaría [ ].

Observations in the man

Although the willow crusts do not seem to have been object of clinical studies, the activity of the synthesis salicylates has given rise to numerosísimas investigations that demonstrate their activity and that they allow to establish his conditions of use (to consult specialized works of Clinical Pharmacology). Certain studies need that the biodisponibilidad of the willow extracts is not proportional to the ingested doses of 735 salicylates [ ]. These fluctuations of salicilemia are also observed in products of 736 syntheses [ ].

Use

Like for other drugs with salicylates, the willow crust is recommended in Fitoterapia in the symptomatic treatment of the manifestations you will articulate painful minors. Like in the case of the A.I.N.E.s its use is just in case of mialgias, arthralgias, chronic reumatoides manifestations... Although the indirect effect of the salicilados ones well are known [ 731a, 731b, 736 ], has not been observed acute nor chronic toxicity for this drug [ 738 ].

In Spain the use of this plant against the fever is authorized. In addition to how antirheumatic and antiinflammatory.

Precautions

Allergy or intolerancia to the salicylates.

The drug

The crust of white willow appears in coriáceos but flexible irregular fragments. The external surface is gray ash, the marronácea, smooth internal surface or finely estríada. The cut is fragile, without scent, the bitter flavor. The microscope it is observed to suber very thin with cells that have thickened the external and radial walls solely, parénquima cortical, with esclerificadas cells and fibers surrounded by prisms of oxalato of calcium. The botanical examination is not sufficient to distiguir the species and subspecies of the willows, that often hibridan themselves. For that reason, a study is considered indispensable (C.C.F., H.P.L.C.) of glucósidos phenolic [ 726, 733, 734 ].

Other much more rich in heterósidos species, are used in different 737 countries [ ].

Bibliography

[ 723 ] K.H. RECHINGER, Salix. In: Flora Europaea, T.G. TUTIN,

V.H. HEYWOOD, N.A. BURGES, D.H. VALENTINE, S.M Wal-

TERS and D.A. WEBB, ed., Cambridge, University Press, vol. 1, p.

41-54, 1964.

[ 724 ] G. WILLUHN

Weidenrinde. In: Teedrogen, - Ein Handbuch für die Praxis auf

to wissenschaftlicher Grundlage-(2ª ed.) M. WICHTL, ed., Stutt-

gart, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, pág. 516-518,

1988.

[ 725 ] H. THIEME

Die Phenolglykoside der Salicaceen

Plant med., 13, 431-438, 1965.

[ 726 ] B. MEIER, Or STICHER and To BETTSCHART

Weidenrinden-Qualität. Gesamtsalicinbestimmung in Weiden-

they render und Weidenpräparäten mit HPLC

Dtsch. Apoth.-Ztg., 125, 341-347, 1985.

[ 727 ] C.P. EGLOFF

Phenolglykoside to einheimischer Salix-Arten

Thesis, Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule, nº 7138, Zü-

rich, 1982.

[ 728 ] V. PLOUVIER

Recherche ET répartition du syringoside, of skimmine, d´hé

térosides coumariniques voisins ET du loganoside dans quel-

ques groupes botaniques.

C.R. Acad. Sci., III, 305, 183-186, 1987.

[ 729 ] C. KARL, G. MÜLLER and P.A. PEDERSEN

Flavonoide aus white Salix. Die struktur DES Terniflorins und ei-

nes weiteren Acylflavonoides

Phytochemistry, 15, 1084-1085, 1976.

[ 730 ] B. MEIER

Salicylate in einheimischen Arzneipflanzen

Journal Suisse de Pharmacie-Schweiz. Apoth. - Ztg., 126, 725-

733, 1988.

[ 731 ] (a) Association DES enseignants of Pharmacologie

National Cours of pharmacologie, Paris, Ellipses, 1987.

(b) L. Chauvelot-moachon, H. BROUILHET and J.P. Gi-

ROUD

Anti.inflammatoires non stéroïdiens. In: Pharmacologie clini-

that, it bases of therápeutique, 2ª ed. J.P. GIROUD, G. MATHÉ

and G. MEYNIEL, ed., Paris, Expansion scientifique française, pág.

709-742, 1988

[ 732 ] D. RICHARD, P. BASCHARD and R. MALINEAU

Them prostaglandines: of the pharmacologie á thérapeutique.

1ére partie: structure, biosynthése, activité.

Act. Pharm., (211), 59-66, 1984.

[ 733 ] B. MEIER, D. LEHMANN, Or STICHER and To BETTSCHART

Salicylate in Arzeipflanzen. Screening-Methoden (HPLC, DC)

zum nachweis

Dtsch. Apoth.-Ztg., 127, 2401-2407, 1987.

[ 734 ] R. Julkunen-tito

Chemotaxonomical screening of phenolic glycosides in nort-

hern willow twigs by capillary gas chromatography.

J. Chromatogr., (324), 129-139, 1985.

[ 735 ] R. PENTZ, H.G. BUSSE, R. KÖNIG and C.-p. SIEGERS

Bioverfügbarkeit von Salicylsäure und Coffein aus einem phy-

they toánalgetischen Kombinationspräparat.

Z. für Phytother., 10, 92-96, 1989.

[ 736 ] To COHEN OF LARA

L`aspirine dans him traitemet DES rhumatismes inflammatories

in 1987.

Revue du Praticien, 37, 2493-2499, 1987.

[ 737 ] R. Julkunen-tiitto

Phenolic constituents of Salix: to chemotaxonomic survey of

to further Finnish species

Phytochemistry, 28, 2115-2125, 1989.

[ 738 ] white Willow, toxicológico dossier of Arkop- Laboratories

harma.

Diseases in whose treatment this plant is adapted

Inflammation

Arthritis

Muscular cramps

Rinitis

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