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Rheum officinale Baill.; R. palmatum L. (Polygonaceae)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

Abstract

A perennial suffruticose herb from western China and Tibet. Rha is derived from the Indo-European protolanguage sreu, which means river or to flow. Rha barbarum was transformed to rhubarb in English and to Rhabarber in German. Medicinal rhubarbs come from R. palmatum (the shape of its leaves palm-shaped), R. tanguticum from Tangut (China), and R. officinale and R. coreanum. Chinese rhubarb is described as the best (hence the Indian name), which is of a saffron color, tastes bitter and astringent, gritty when chewed, has a fractured surface and is friable. Chinese were acquainted with this herb long before all modern civilizations, as it is mentioned in the Chinese Herbal called Pen-king, which is attributed to the Emperor Shen Nung, the father of Chinese agriculture and medicine, who reigned about 2700 B.C. In China the root and rhizomes of R. palmatum, R. tanguticum, or R. officinale, are the official rhubarb and all are known as Dahuangand, and are described to have cold property and a bitter taste. Dioscorides mentioned that it was brought from beyond the Bosphorus, and Pliny described a root termed Rhacoma, which when pounded yielded a color like that of wine, but inclining to saffron , and was brought from beyond Pontus. Various authors have described three kinds of rhubarb ; Chinese, Persian and Indian; the Chinese being the best. It is purgative of all humours, and is diuretic and emmenagogue. Ground in vinegar, it is externally used as poultice for treatment of freckles, eczema, and inflammations. Internally, it is used to relieve flatulence, and to treat stomach and intestinal weakness, jaundice, ascites, inflammation of liver and spleen, cough, asthma and bleeding; also used to relieve renal and urinary bladder pain. R. officinale is approved for constipation in Europe since Nov. 2005 by the HMPC of the European Medicines Agency. Chemical constituents of rhubarb include many 1,8-dihydroxyanthracene derivatives including chrysophanol, emodin, rhein, erythroeretin, rhabarberon; also, rheotannic acid, methylchrysophanic acid, catechin, gallic acid, and calcium oxalate. A Cochrane Database Systemic review of clinical trials found R. officinale treatment of patients with CKD to have a positive effect on serum creatinine and BUN, compared to those with no treatment.

Rheum officinale and R. palmatum are two separate species but used interchangeably; they share Indian vernaculars with R. emodi.

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  1. Stockton, CA, USA

    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Rheum officinale Baill.; R. palmatum L. (Polygonaceae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_158

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