Ikshut Herb | Quishut | quskutin

İkşut Herb With its special geographical location, our country has a rich flora where approximately eleven thousand plant species grow. While different plant species are named with similar local names in different regions of the country, the same plant species are named with different names. In our country, which has a rich ethnic structure, the local names given to some plant species, although they are known in other regions, have brought those plants to the status of “Legend”. The “İKŞUT” or ‘Küsküt’ plant, which has become a part of the culture in Mardin and its region, is the best example of this. This herbal drug, which is especially applied in the region for the treatment of liver diseases, physiological jaundice in newborn babies and mothers, has become synonymous with the region and its culture. Although the source of this drug, which is collected from nature in the region and used for healing purposes in local herbalists and spice shops, has long been a subject of research, it has made it impossible to identify the plant from which its dried, partly powdered herb is obtained. Technical visits were made to Mardin province in order to see the “İkşut” plant in its natural habitat and to obtain more detailed information about its uses in the region. As a result of the scientific studies, it was determined that this legendary plant is a parasitic plant called Cuscuta (Cuscuta spp.). Phytochemical and pharmacological studies are being carried out by our team regarding the plant, which grows in different regions of our country and is known for its medicinal use in Mardin and its region.

Buying Ichsut Herb

Our country is home to approximately 11,000 plant species due to its unique geographical location and different climate and soil characteristics.

People living in these rare lands, which have embraced many civilizations throughout history, have benefited from the plants around them in their daily lives in very different ways, and have used these plants in many areas such as food, animal feed, ornaments, dyeing, fuel, and incense. The most important role of plants in human life, other than their consumption as food, is their use in the treatment of diseases. People living in different regions have used the same plants they found in their own regions in the treatment of similar diseases, as well as using different plants in different ways for the same ailments. With the advancement of scientific research and chromatographic analysis methods, it has been determined that the therapeutic properties of plants are due to their phytochemical properties, especially their total secondary metabolites or a single chemical compound in their content. With the isolation of these substances from plants and the production of synthetic or semi-synthetic preparations, the production of chemical preparations has accelerated and natural ones have begun to be abandoned. However, with the emergence of negative side effects of synthetic preparations containing a single chemical substance and some fillers over time, a rapid return to natural herbal products has begun. People living in rural areas in particular have taken on the role of a living library for modern folk medicine in terms of herbal treatment practices from past to present.

While different plant species are named with similar local names in different regions, different names have been given to the same plant species in some regions. In fact, in our country, which has a rich ethnic structure, the local names given to some plant species, despite being very well known, have brought those plants to the status of “Legendary Plants”. The “İKŞUT” plant, which has not lost its importance from past to present in Mardin and its region and has even become a part of the culture of that region, is the best example of this. Used as a folk medicine in the region, especially in the treatment of liver diseases, and applied to newborn babies and their mothers for physiological jaundice, this herbal drug has become synonymous with the region and its culture. “İkşut” has become a subject of curiosity for the people of Mardin, those living in other provinces or visiting Mardin for various purposes. Even though the source of this drug, which is collected from nature by certain people in the region, sold for healing purposes in local herbalists and spice shops and used by the public, has been a subject of research for a long time, it is almost impossible to identify the plant from which the drug is obtained, which only has dried, partly powdered herb in herbalists and spice shops. This situation can lead to the plant being confused with different plants, and it will inevitably be that the wrong predictions made will bring irreparable health problems. Technical trips were made to the province of Mardin in order to obtain accurate information about the "İkşut" plant, to see the plant in its natural growth environment and to obtain more detailed information about its uses in the region. As a result of the scientific studies carried out; it has been determined that this legendary plant, which is a matter of curiosity among scientists and those interested in the subject of 'Medicinal Plants' both in the Mardin region and in our country, is actually Küşut (Cuscuta sp.), a parasitic plant that is never desired in agricultural production, through the analysis and diagnosis of the herbarium samples taken by us. In the observations made after the determination of the plant as a genus, it was revealed that there were also Kişut, İşut etc. in different regions. It has been observed that it is called by different names (Şekeroğlu 2011). The parts of this parasitic plant, known as 'Dodder' in English, collected during the maturation (flowering/seeding) period and dried in the shade, maintain their importance for healing purposes in herbalists and spice shops. Phytochemical and pharmacological studies are being carried out by our team on the plant, which grows in different regions in our country and is known for its medicinal purposes mostly in Mardin and its region (Koca et al. 2011).

Dodder Herb on Acacia Tree

Botanical Characteristics, Life Form and Distribution of the Ichsut (Dodder) Plant

The scientific classification of the ikshut plant is given below (Seçmen et al. 2008).
Family: Cuscutaceae (Genius genus)
Genus: Cuscuta L. – Dodder

According to the Turkish Plant Names Dictionary (Baytop 1997), the local names given to the dodder plant in our country are as follows: Bostanbozan, Canavarotu, Bağbozan, Cinsaçı, Eftimon, Gelinsaçı, Kızıl ivy, Küşüt and Şeytansaçı. Again, in the same source, it is stated that dodder plants are generally known as “Bostanbozan” in our country, and it is reported that these species are annual or perennial, chlorophyll-free and parasitic plants. Description of the plant It is done as follows by Zeybek and Zeybek (1994);
“They are chlorophyll-free fully parasitic climbing plants with filamentous stems and scaly leaves that feed by sending their hostoriums to the vascular bundles of green plants”. Dodder (Cuscuta spp.) species, which cause great damage to plant production in agricultural areas as well as meadow-pasture plants, are also known as “Cinsaçı” among the public in our country and there are 200 species and 70 varieties in the world and 16 different species in our country (Nemli 1982; Seçmen et al. 2008; Costea and Stevanovic 2010). According to the results of the research conducted on the distribution and hosts of dodder species found in cultivated areas in Anatolia (Nemli 1986); three different dodder species (Cuscuta campestris Yunck., Cuscuta approximata Bab. and Cuscuta monogyna Vahl.) living as parasites on cultivated plants were identified. In addition to these, C. arvensis has also been seen and its hosts have been determined to be sugar beet, onion, clover and summer vegetables. It is stated that dodder species, which have parasitic plant characteristics that cause the most economic damage by causing yield loss in cultivated plants worldwide, cause the most damage in clover, clover, tomato, carrot, onion and pepper. It is also reported that this damage in cultivated plants varies between % 50 - 90 in some cases (Lanini and Kogan 2005).

Ichsut Dodder herb, cuscuta, Convolvulaceae

Dodder species, which are widespread in the temperate and hot climates of the world, have a structure different from the usual plant structure, and their root, stem, leaf and flower parts are quite different from normal plants. Plants with a parasitic life form obtain the nutrients they need for their life from the host plants to which they cling with their suckers (Figure 1) (Bown 2001). The seeds of the plant, which has a completely parasitic life cycle, spend the winter in the soil and among the remains of the host plant, then germinate in the spring when they find suitable humidity and temperature, wrap themselves around the host plant of that year with their suckers and cut off contact with the soil. During its life period, dodder provides all its needs (nutrients and water) from the host plant. Dodder, which wraps itself around the body of the host with its suckers, secures itself by releasing its suckers into the vascular bundles of the plant. The dodder plant, which does not have chlorophyll, is usually light green, light yellow and sometimes orange in color. The plant, which develops rapidly and turns into a ball of thread over time, also wraps itself around the surrounding plants and shares their nutrients. The plant, which produces numerous light yellow, pink, orange and even purple flowers, depending on the species, produces plenty of tiny light green seeds at the end of the development period. With seed binding, it also ensures its spread the following year. The development period of the plant is between May and October, depending on the climatic conditions of the region where it grows (Jamshid and Esther 2011). It is reported that the seeds of the plant, which have a very spreading feature, can survive in the soil for 10–30 years or more, depending on the environmental and climatic conditions (Lanini and Kogan 2005).

Biological life cycle of the dodder

Chemical Composition
Although there is no phytochemical research on dodder species in Turkey, there have been a few studies on different species of the plant, especially in the Far East, to elucidate the phytochemical content of plant extracts. In the analyses carried out especially on C. chinensis, the most common ones were flavonols, flavonoids, lignans, quinic acid and polysaccharides (Du et al. 1998; Wang et al. 2000; Ye et al. 2002, 2005). Detailed studies revealed 1 trisaccharide in the ether-insoluble resin glycoside-like fraction, 4 new glycosidic acids, acetic acid, propionic acid, methylbutyric acid, tiglic acid, convolvulinic acid and jalapinolic acid in C. chinensis seeds (Du et al. 1998). Studies on C. japonica polar extract showed that the active components were caffeoylquinic acid derivatives and caffeoylquinate derivatives (Oh et al. 2002).

Pharmacological Effects

The flowering branches of the ikshut plant (Cuscuta europaea L.) are reported to have diuretic, laxative, flatulence and bile-reducing effects (Baytop 1999). The aerial parts of Cuscuta species have been used in the West and the seeds in China as folk medicine for centuries to improve various symptoms. The seeds of Cuscuta chinensis Lam. have been used for liver and kidney disorders, to improve sexual functions, to eliminate eye complaints such as blurred vision and fatigue, and clinically to prevent aging (Zheng et al. 1998). In Turkey, only in the Mardin region, infusion or maceration of the aerial parts is used for liver problems and knee pain (Şekeroğlu et al. 2011). In vitro and in vivo studies have shown different pharmacological effects of Cuscuta species. Studies have shown that C. chinensis has anticancer (Nisa et al. 1986; Umehara et al., 2004), immunostimulatory, and antioxidant effects (Bao et al. 2002). C. chinensis glycosides have been shown to have anti-aging effects and to enhance memory by inducing PC12 cell differentiation (Liu et al. 2003). Subsequent studies have revealed antibacterial (Pal et al. 2006) and antioxidant (Yen et al. 2008) effects of C. reflexa stems' methanol extract, antioxidant (Yen et al. 2008) effects of C. chinensis ethylacetate and methanol extract, and antihypertensive (Oh et al. 2002) effects of the major components of C. japonica. Apart from these, C. europea C3-binding glycoprotein has been shown to have immunomodulatory effect (Stanilova et al. 2000), C. chinensis' ethanolic extract has been shown to have hepatoprotective effects (Yen et al. 2007) and the methanolic extract obtained from C. reflexa body has been shown to suppress ovarian steroidogenesis in mice (Gupta et al. 2003). We have determined the analgesic anti-inflammatory effects of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, methanol and water extracts obtained from C. arvense on mice (Koca et al. 2011). Traditional Use of İkşut in Mardin and its region İkşut is traditionally given as herbal tea in Mardin and its surrounding areas, especially to mothers who have just given birth and rarely in very small amounts (2-3 teaspoons) to their babies. Dried ikshut plant purchased from Mardin herbalists and spice shops is first cleaned by rinsing it with cold water, then it is kept in warm water in a closed glass container at room temperature for about one night and the tea prepared is given to the mother. No sweetener (sugar or honey) is added. The treatment period is about one month (3-4 glasses of water should be drunk per day).

Commercial Preparations on the Market Dodder is actually a herbal drug that has been widely used in Chinese medicine for centuries, especially due to its aphrodisiac (sexual potency enhancing) properties (Bown 2001). Dodder seed extracts, which have recently become a popular herbal medicine in our country as well as all over the world, are a product preferred especially by men. Hundreds of different herbal products containing different parts of the dodder plant are currently sold on the market under the name of “Chinese Dodder”. No information or products have been found regarding the use of dodder in the treatment of liver disorders or jaundice. It is a scientific fact that the chemical compositions of different species of the same plant genus and their different growing environments change. It is also known that different usage and application methods have different pharmacological effects. In this sense, it is possible to produce natural herbal preparations that are beneficial for health as a result of scientific studies to be conducted on the usage and purpose of the dodder species grown in Mardin and its region.

Warnings

The aim of this study is to scientifically define the İkşut plant, known as a local folk medicine and traditionally used. Information on its use is entirely local to Mardin province, and unconscious use may have adverse effects on health. Since it is a herbal drug that is particularly effective on the liver, it should be considered that unwanted side effects may occur in case of excessive use.

Source: YYU Journal of History and Science (YYU J AGR SCI) 2012, 22(1): 56-61

Use in Folk Medicine:

Used part: Ikshut Kuskutin, kuskutalin.
Properties: Diuretic, diuretic, choleretic, bile flow regulator, antiflatulent, intestinal gas eliminator, vulnerary wound healing, chlorophyll-free parasitic plant species. It grows by wrapping itself around jonquil, thyme, clover or nettle. When the plant is young, it quickly consumes the nutrients in the seed. It has no roots. Its stems are pink. Its leaves are barren as colorless scales. The parasitic plant has to hold on to its neighboring plant with its stems. It carefully searches for such plants from which to get support and finds them. As soon as it emerges from the soil, it starts to grow in a spiral shape. As soon as it finds a support, it considers itself saved. If it does not find such a support, it starts to eat itself. The young plant leaves the lower parts of its stem alone with death and starts to look for support again by feeding on the organic substances here. As soon as it finds support, it hugs it with all its strength and passes its sucking hoses. In our country, which has a rich ethnic structure, the local names given to some plant species, although they are known in other regions, have brought those plants to the status of “Legend”. The IKSUT plant, which has become a part of the culture in the southeast region, is the best example of this. This herbal drug, which is especially applied in the treatment of liver diseases, physiological jaundice in newborn babies and mothers, has become identified with the region and its culture. Although the source of IKSUT collected from nature in the region has been a subject of research for a long time, the fact that its herb, which is only dried and partly powdered, is obtained has made it impossible to identify the plant. Technical trips were made to the southeast provinces in order to see the “IKSUT” plant in its natural growth environment and to obtain more detailed information about its uses in the region.