EFSA Compendium of Botanicals

Draft - work in progress

Calamus (as plant) // Acorus calamus L.

Family:: Acoraceae
Approval state:: Approved
Number of articles retrieved:: 3253
Number of processed references:: 8

Compositions

#1: alkaloids (Fresh rhizome) #2: Tannins (Fresh rhizome) #3: saponins (Fresh rhizome) #4: Saponins (Roots) #5: Tannins (Roots) #6: #7: alpha-asarone (volatile oil) #8: beta-asarone (volatile oil)

Endpoint Studies

#1: #2: tremors, piloerection and abdominal breathing at LD50 1750 mg/kg body weight

Genotoxicity

#1: #2: DNA strand breaks, induced by a-arason, were to some extent characterized as DNA double strand breaks.

Composition #1: Muthuraman, Arunachalam., Singh, Nirmal. Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity profile of Acorus calamus (Sweet flag) in rodents . asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2012, vol. 2, no. Suppl. 2, p. S1017–S1023. .

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional extraction description:

ethanol: water (1:1) at room temperature for 24 h.
Substance:

Alkaloids (RF-00004360-PAR)
Additional substance description:

Fresh rhizome
Analytical method code:

Phytochemical screening (F604A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)
Internal remarks:

alkaloids (Fresh rhizome)

Composition #2: Muthuraman, Arunachalam., Singh, Nirmal. Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity profile of Acorus calamus (Sweet flag) in rodents . asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2012, vol. 2, no. Suppl. 2, p. S1017–S1023. .

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional extraction description:

ethanol: water (1:1) at room temperature for 24 h.
Substance:

Tannins (RF-00004337-PAR)
Additional substance description:

Fresh rhizome
Analytical method code:

Phytochemical screening (F604A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)
Internal remarks:

Tannins (Fresh rhizome)

Composition #3: Muthuraman, Arunachalam., Singh, Nirmal. Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity profile of Acorus calamus (Sweet flag) in rodents . asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2012, vol. 2, no. Suppl. 2, p. S1017–S1023. .

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional extraction description:

ethanol: water (1:1) at room temperature for 24 h.
Substance:

Saponins (RF-00004333-PAR)
Additional substance description:

Fresh rhizome
Analytical method code:

Phytochemical screening (F604A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)
Internal remarks:

saponins (Fresh rhizome)

Composition #4: Khan, Mohammad Ahad Ali., Islam, Mohammad Torequl. Analgesic and cytotoxic activity of Acorus calamus L., Kigelia pinnata L., Mangifera indica L. and Tabernaemontana divaricata L. . journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences, 2012, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 149–54. DOI: 10.4103/0975-7406.94820. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional extraction description:

Ethanol
Substance:

Saponins (RF-00004333-PAR)
Analytical method code:

Phytochemical screening (F604A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)
Internal remarks:

Saponins (Roots)

Composition #5: Khan, Mohammad Ahad Ali., Islam, Mohammad Torequl. Analgesic and cytotoxic activity of Acorus calamus L., Kigelia pinnata L., Mangifera indica L. and Tabernaemontana divaricata L. . journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences, 2012, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 149–54. DOI: 10.4103/0975-7406.94820. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional extraction description:

Ethanol
Substance:

Tannins (RF-00004337-PAR)
Analytical method code:

Phytochemical screening (F604A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)
Internal remarks:

Tannins (Roots)

Composition #6: Maurya, Santosh Kumar., Seth, Ankit., Laloo, Damiki., Singh, Narendra Kumar., Gautam, Dev Nath Singh., Singh, Anil Kumar. Sodhana: An Ayurvedic process for detoxification and modification of therapeutic activities of poisonous medicinal plants. . ancient science of life, 2015, vol. 34, no. 4, p. 188–97. DOI: 10.4103/0257-7941.160862. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Substance:

Eugenol (RF-00003807-PAR)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Qualitative Value (Binary) (BIN)

Composition #7: Berg, Kerstin., Bischoff, Roland., Stegmueller, Simone., Cartus, Alexander., Schrenk, Dieter. Comparative investigation of the mutagenicity of propenylic and allylic asarone isomers in the Ames fluctuation assay . mutagenesis, 2016, vol. 31, no. 4, p. 443–451. DOI: 10.1093/mutage/gew007. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Unspecified (A07XD)
Substance:

asarone (RF-00003698-PAR)
Additional substance description:

alpha-asarone
Result unit:

Percent (G138A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Numerical Value (VAL)
Value (concentration, content):

9
Internal remarks:

alpha-asarone (volatile oil)

Composition #8: Berg, Kerstin., Bischoff, Roland., Stegmueller, Simone., Cartus, Alexander., Schrenk, Dieter. Comparative investigation of the mutagenicity of propenylic and allylic asarone isomers in the Ames fluctuation assay . mutagenesis, 2016, vol. 31, no. 4, p. 443–451. DOI: 10.1093/mutage/gew007. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Unspecified (A07XD)
Substance:

beta-asarone (RF-00003708-PAR)
Result unit:

Percent (G138A)
Yes/No Qualitative:

Positive/Present (POS)
Result type:

Numerical Value (VAL)
Value (concentration, content):

95
Internal remarks:

beta-asarone (volatile oil)

Endpoint study #1: Yabiku, Helena Yuco., Oga, Seizi., Lajolo, Franco., Andrighetti, Heloisa. Toxicity of α and β-asarone, and calamus oil for mice and chick embryos, and mutagenicity for Salmonella typhimurium.. revista do instituto adolfo lutz, 1987, vol. 45, no. 1-2, p. 1–12. .

Study relevance:

Human health
Substance:

asarone (RF-00003698-PAR)
Preparation/Extraction method:

Essential oil (as part-nature) (A166Q)
Additional plant/substance description:

from Indian (tetraploid variety)
Type of toxicological test:

acute toxicity (CHD016TT)
Tested organism:

House mouse (as animal) (A0CNT)
Sex:

No data
Endpoint measured:

Lethal dose rate in 50% of experimental organisms (CHD029EP)
Concentration unit:

Gram/kilogram (G015A)
Effect concentration:

226
Effect description:

the LD50s in mice of α- and β-asarones were 226 and 184 mg/kg, resp.
Effect or parameter linked to the endpoint:

mortality (CHD010BE)

Endpoint study #2: Shah, P., Ghag, M., Deshmukh, P., Kulkarni, Y., Joshi, S., Vyas, B., Shah, D. Toxicity study of ethanolic extract of Acorus calamus rhizome. international journal of green pharmacy, 2012, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 29–35. DOI: 10.4103/0973-8258.97119. [DOI link]

Study relevance:

Human health
Plant part:

Roots and other underground parts (as part-nature) (A067M)
Preparation/Extraction method:

Solvent extraction (A0BZR)
Additional plant/substance description:

Ethanol
Type of toxicological test:

acute toxicity (CHD016TT)
Tested organism:

House mouse (as animal) (A0CNT)
Strain of test organism:

Wistar (CHD013ST)
Sex:

Female
Route of exposure:

ORAL: GAVAGE (OECD2231PL)
Endpoint measured:

Effective loading rate lethal to 50% of experimental organisms (CHD063EP)
Concentration unit:

Micrograms per kilogram body weight (G224A)
Effect concentration:

1750
Critical effect:

MUSCLO-SKELETAL (TOX13A)
Target tissue:

Digestive (TT002A)
Effect description:

Clinical signs such as tremors, pilo erection and abdominal breathing were observed immediately after the oral dosing of 1,750 mg/kg body weight
Effect or parameter linked to the endpoint:

body weight (CHD005BE)
Internal remarks:

tremors, piloerection and abdominal breathing at LD50 1750 mg/kg body weight

Genotox #1: Jin, Zhongchu., Qin, Wenqing., Chen, Xingruo. Mutagenicity of α-asarone from Acorus calamus and its metabolic pathway in vitro.. zhejiang yike daxue xuebao, 1982, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 1–3, 25. .

Study category:

Mutagenicity
Type of toxicological test:

in vitro (CHD061TT)
Method type:

in vitro
Tested organism:

Salmonella typhimurium (as organism) (A0CPZ)
Control groups used:

yes
Is genotoxic:

No data
Remarks on genotox study:

α-Asarone (I) [2883-98-9], prepd. from A. calamus, was mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium TA100 in a concn.-dependent fashion. The I-induced mutagenicity required a promutagen mixt. contg. liver S-9 fraction and NADPH. In addn., the I-induced mutation was suppressed in the presence of 7,8-benzoflavone. The mutagenicity of I at 500 μg/test dish was comparable to that induced by aflatoxin.
Internal ID:

CAPLUS_AN_1984:545636

Genotox #2: Haupenthal, S., Berg, K., Gruendken, M., Vallicotti, S., Hemgesberg, M., Sak, K., Schrenk, D., Esselen, M. In vitro genotoxicity of carcinogenic asarone isomers. food & function, 2017, vol. 8, no. 3, p. 1227–1234. DOI: 10.1039/c6fo01701k. [DOI link]

Study category:

Genotoxicity
Type of toxicological test:

single cell gel/comet assay in mammalian cells for detection of DNA damage (CHD040TT)
Method type:

in vitro
Tested organism:

Human (as organism) (A056J)
Strain of test organism:

Hep G2 human cell line (CHD114ST)
Control groups used:

yes
Endpoint measured:

DNA damage and/or repair
Is genotoxic:

Positive
Remarks on genotox study:

DNA strand breaks, induced by a-arason, were to some extent characterized as DNA double strand breaks.
Internal remarks:

DNA strand breaks, induced by a-arason, were to some extent characterized as DNA double strand breaks.
Internal ID:

WOS:000398780200035