Swertia

Swertia is a genus in the gentian family containing plants sometimes referred to as the felworts.[4] Some species bear very showy purple and blue flowers.[5][6] Many members of this genus have medicinal and cultural purposes.[7]

Swertia
Swertia perennis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Gentianaceae
Subtribe: Swertiinae
Genus: Swertia
L.
Type species
Swertia perennis
L.
Species

120–150; see text

Synonyms[1][2][3]
  • Kingdon-Wardia C. Marquand
  • Ophelia D. Don
  • Pleurogyne Eschsch. ex Griseb.
  • Swertopsis Makino
  • Synallodia Raf.
  • Tesseranthium Kellogg

Probable synonyms

  • Anagallidium Griseb.

Possible synonyms

  • Frasera Walter
  • Lomatogoniopsis T. N. Ho & S. W. Liu

Plants of genus Frasera are sometimes considered part of this genus, sometimes as a separate genus, and sometimes as synonymous.

Selected species

Species in the genus Swertia include, but are not limited to:[1][8]

  • Swertia angustifolia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don
  • Swertia bimaculata (Siebold & Zucc.) C. B. Clarke
    • Swertia bimaculata (Siebold & Zucc.) Hook. f. & Thoms.
  • Swertia calcicola Kerr.
  • Swertia chinensis (Griseb.) Franch.
    • Swertia diluta (Turcz.) Benth. & Hook. f.
  • Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) H. Karst.
    • Swertia chirata (Wall.) C. B. Clarke
  • Swertia ciliata (D. Don ex G. Don) B. L. Burtt.
  • Swertia cordata (Wall. ex G. Don) C.B. Clarke
  • Swertia dilatata C. B. Clarke
  • Swertia hookeri C. B. Clarke
  • Swertia japonica (Roem. & Schult.) Makino
  • Swertia leduci Franch.
    • Swertia mileensis T. N. Ho & W. L. Shih
  • Swertia macrosperma C. B. Clarke
  • Swertia multicaulis D. Don
  • Swertia nervosa (G. Don) C. B. Clarke
  • Swertia perennis L.
  • Swertia punicea Hemsl.
  • Swertia purpurascens (D. Don) A. Wall ex E. D. Clarke
  • Swertia striata Collett & Hemsl.
  • Swertia tibetica Batal.
  • Swertia tongluensis Burkill

Chemical constituents

Swertia contains the chemicals sawertiamarine, mangeferin and amarogenitine[9] 1,5,8-trihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone, 1-hydroxy-2,3,5,7-tetramethoxyxanthone, 1-hydroxy-3,5,8-trimethoxyxanthone, 1-hydroxyl-2,3,4,6-tetramethoxyxanthone, 1-hydroxy-2,3,4,7-tetramethoxyxanthone, 1,8-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyxanthone, 1,7-dihydroxy-3,8-dimethoxyxanthone, 1,3,5,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone, balanophonin, oleanolic acid, maslinic acid, and sumaresinolic acid.[10] Swerilactones from Swertia mileensis showed anti-hepatitis B virus activity in vitro.[11]

Traditional medicine

Swertia is used in Indian Ayurvedic Herbal System to cure Fever as in Laghu sudarshana churna, Maha sudarshan Churna and in Tibetan folk medicine.[12] It is also one of most widely used medicinal plants of Sikkim, and is considered Vulnerable based on IUCN CAMP Criteria.[13]

References
  1. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (2004-09-23). "Genus: Swertia". Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14.
  2. "Index Nominum Genericorum database". International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Smithsonian Institution. 1978. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  3. "Linnaean Name: Swertia perennis Linnaeus". The Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project. Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  4. "Swertia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. http://www.iisc.ernet.in/~currsci/aug252005/635.pdf
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20120407030411/http://www.ansab.org/UserFiles/chiraito.pdf
  7. O'Neill, A. R.; Badola, H.K.; Dhyani, P. P.; Rana, S. K. (2017). "Integrating ethnobiological knowledge into biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Himalayas". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (1): 21. doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0148-9. PMC 5372287. PMID 28356115.
  8. Porcher, Michel H.; et al. (2004). "Sorting Swertia names". Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database. The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  9. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 98 (2005) 31–35
  10. Li XS, Jiang ZY, Wang FS, Ma YB, Zhang XM, Chen JJ (2008). "Chemical constituents from herbs of Swertia mileensis". Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 33 (23): 2790–2793. PMID 19260313.
  11. Geng CA, Zhang XM, Ma YB, Luo J, Chen JJ (2011). "Swerilactones L-O, secoiridoids with C₁₂ and C₁₃ skeletons from Swertia mileensis". J Nat Prod. 74 (8): 1822–1825. doi:10.1021/np200256b. PMID 21823575.
  12. Variation of active constituents of an important Tibet folk medicine Huiling Yang, Chenxu Ding, Yuanwen Duan, Jianquan Liu
  13. O'Neill, Alexander; et al. (2017-03-29). "Integrating ethnobiological knowledge into biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Himalayas". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (21). doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0148-9. PMC 5372287. PMID 28356115. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
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