Institute for Medicinal Plant Research "Dr Josif Pančić" , Belgrade , Serbia
According to Erg. B. 6, C. acaulis, is the biological source of Carlinae radix. The root is traditionally used in the treatment ofcatarrh of upper respiratory tract, as diuretic, stomachic, diaphoretic and tonic. Externally it was used for the treatment of different skin conditions. Though not described in any modern pharmacopoeia, C. radix is present in the modern market of medicinal plants. Drug on domestic and international markets only partly come from the species C. acaulis, and in major part from the species of C. acanthifolia. Recent studies have shown that because of the very similar chemical compositions of C. acaulisand C. acanthifolia root essential oils and their respective methanol root and herb extracts, they exhibit similar pharmacological activities (antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective).The taxonomic classification of the genus is very interesting. The Serbian Flora lists three Carlina species: C. acaulis L., C. utzka Hacq. (C. acanthifolia All.)andC. vulgaris L. The first two species are biological sources of the drug Carlinae radix, while C.vulgaris has no importance in the traditional medicine. Genus Carlina in the European Flora, is divided into two subgenus (Lyrolepis and Carlina), which include 13 species with many subspecies.According Meusel and Kästner, genus includes five subgenus (Carlowizia, Lyrolepis, Mitina, Heracantha and Carlina) with 28 species. In the Serbian Flora infraspecific classification of C. acaulis is not shown. According to the European flora the species includes two subspecies: ssp. acaulis i ssp. simplex. According to Meusel-Kästner the species C. acaulis is divided into: ssp. acaulis (var. acaulis, var. alpina), ssp. caulescens. Our flora does not indicate infraspecific classification of C. utzka Hacq. (syn. C. acanthifolia All.). According to the Flora of Europe, C. acanthifolia,isdivided into: ssp. acanthifolia (C. utzka) and ssp. cynara, and Meusel and Kästner: ssp. acanthifolia, ssp. utzka and ssp. cynara. According the literature mentioned above the classification of C.vulgaris is diferent. Based on the morpho-anatomical characteristics of the genus Carlina represented in our flora (C. acaulis, C. utzka, C. vulgaris), they can be easily and reliably differentiated.
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