Section Contents:<a name="top"></a>
- A study of goldenseal and indinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection, found no interaction.<a href="#hdng0">(More...)</a>
- Description: Goldenseal ( Hydrastis Canadensis ), a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), is an herbaceous perennial found in rich hardwood forests throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada.<a href="#hdng1">(More...)</a>
<a name="hdng0"></a>
A study of goldenseal and indinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection, found no interaction. Other herbs containing berberine, including Chinese goldthread ( Coptis trifolia ) and Oregon grape ( Mahonia aquifolium ), are sometimes substituted for goldenseal. These herbs may have different effects, side effects, and drug interactions than goldenseal. <a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> The underground stems or roots of goldenseal are dried and used to make teas, liquid extracts, and solid extracts that may be made into tablets and capsules.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Goldenseal is often combined with echinacea in preparations that are intended to be used for colds.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Now, goldenseal is used for colds and other respiratory tract infections, infectious diarrhea, eye infections, and vaginitis (inflammation or infection of the vagina). It is occasionally used to treat cancer. It is also applied to wounds and canker sores, and is used as a mouthwash for sore gums, mouth, and throat.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Historically, Native Americans have used goldenseal for various health conditions such as skin diseases, ulcers, and gonorrhea.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Goldenseal is a plant that grows wild in parts of the United States but has become endangered by overharvesting.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> With natural supplies dwindling, goldenseal is now grown commercially across the United States, especially in the Blue Ridge Mountains.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
Although drug interactions have not been reported, goldenseal may cause changes in the way the body processes drugs, and could potentially increase the levels of many drugs.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Goldenseal preparations contain only a small amount of berberine, so it is difficult to extend the evidence about the effectiveness of berberine to goldenseal.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> Few studies have been published on goldenseal's safety and effectiveness, and there is little scientific evidence to support using it for any health problem. Clinical studies on a compound found in goldenseal, berberine, suggest that the compound may be beneficial for certain infections--such as those that cause some types of diarrhea, as well as some eye infections.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a>
There is little information about the safety of high dosages or the long-term use of goldenseal.<a href="
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/goldenseal/" TARGET="_blank"
[1]</a> In the United States, a national program to regulate export and monitor wild populations will be implemented by the U.S. CITES Authority, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The current knowledge about the population biology of goldenseal is briefly reviewed in this report, based mostly on information from literature on its cultivation. There are no population dynamics data available for goldenseal, from anywhere within its range.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Drought conditions are known to cause early senescence in goldenseal. One or two populations could be visited earlier in the summer to quantify this phenomenon. The overall impact of this less accurate data on population level results is expected to be slight, and a single mid-summer (July) visit to each study population is sufficient.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The vegetation data collected will consist of the estimation of the total percent cover of each vegetation strata (tree, shrub, herb, moss), and of the estimated individual percent cover for tree species, shrub species and herb species. No specific limits will be laid out for these percent cover visual estimates, but the estimate should be representative of the vegetation associated with the goldenseal study population.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Using the limited available information, I wrote an overview of the population dynamics of the species, as well as a discussion of the likely impacts (and sustainability) of harvesting wild goldenseal, based on comparisons with other forest perennial herbs.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Harvesting impacts on population survival and growth can be tested using stochastic population projections. The appropriate cells of each matrix (i.e. those of all plants except seedlings), can be modified to account for harvesting by simply increasing mortality. In the case of goldenseal, the harvesting of a plant is the demographic equivalent of its death; it is entirely removed from the population.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The 1997 proposal to CITES quotes observers as saying that entire populations of goldenseal are extirpated by diggers ( USFWS/OSA 1997 ). Perhaps in the past, a harvester would follow a route known only to him between numerous populations, and harvest just enough to allow each population to recover. Nowadays, such behavior is likely to be counter-productive if another (or several) less scrupulous harvester finds the populations and removes all plants.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
Goldenseal is not the only slow growing forest perennial herb. Other studies have reported population growth rates near equilibrium (1.00) for many perennial understory plants.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> As mentioned before, goldenseal is a plant that grows in a relatively stable forest understory habitat. It probably has a population growth rate that varies relatively little, above and below 1.00 (population stability or maintenance).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Nobody can earn a living harvesting goldenseal. Populations are too few and far between, and they contain few plants.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> A sufficient number of populations may also not be known to state officials. This monitoring program should at least extend to those states where goldenseal harvesting is permitted, but the participation of states where goldenseal is not harvested or rare would also be very useful and should be solicited and encouraged.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The idea here is to have a population which is of the Minimum Viable Population size (or as close as possible to it) determined for American ginseng, the only herb occurring in the same habitat as goldenseal for which we have MVP size data. This number is only a guide, as demographic analysis will be necessary to obtain a MVP size number for goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> There is therefore a serious lack of scientific data on the population ecology of goldenseal in the wild.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Although goldenseal is harvested in the wild in the U.S., there is no systematic monitoring of wild populations.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The most recent paper deals with distribution, phenology and biomass of goldenseal in the understory of an Indiana oak-hickory forest ( Eichenberger and Parker 1976 Eichenberger and Parker 1976 ). Another paper, published in 1891, discusses the life history of goldenseal ( Bowers 1891 Bowers 1891 ). This represents the sum total of what has been published about the ecology of natural populations of goldenseal during the last 100 years. With such a list, a literature review can be very short indeed.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Each year, the studied population must be searched for the appearance of seedlings or vegetative offshoots, recruiting into the population. In the case of goldenseal, the seeds produced in the summer will germinate in the fall, and appear as seedlings in the first spring following their production.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The study of the population dynamics of goldenseal should be based on the study of as many populations, of over 100 individuals each, as possible.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Cultivation of goldenseal is a good option for relieving harvesting pressure on wild populations, particularly if a moratorium on the exportation of wild goldenseal was to be put in place.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Biologically, harvesting of goldenseal makes little sense. The root of the plant is harvested, effectively killing it (not at all like harvesting wild fruit, such as blueberries, or even leaves, such as those of the fiddlehead fern, Matteucia struthiopteris ).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> With goldenseal, vegetative recruits can appear on any part of the rhizome or on the roots, at various distances from the mother plant, which makes it harder to identify the mother plant. Similar efforts were required for the study of a clonal wild sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) which produced two offshoots every year that emerged 10 to 20 cm away from the mother plant ( Nantel and Gagnon 1999 Nantel and Gagnon 1999 ).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> For goldenseal, we obtain a seed category (a state class) and five size/state-classes based on the number of leaves: 0 seedlings (one small seed-leaf), 1 one-leaved plants (with typical lobation), 2 two-leaved plants, 3 three-leaved plants, 4 flower bearing plants (regardless of leaf number). Field study may cause a revision in these classes (i.e. class 3 class 4, if plants with 3 leaves always have a flower stem).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> 6.3.1. Goldenseal is a clonally propagated species, and this causes several difficulties in following the fate of individual plants over a number of years.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
The idea here is to avoid untypical habitats, where goldenseal may be less productive or overly so. This factor will be of less importance as the extensive monitoring data are acquired, so that the typical or atypical nature of each intensively monitored population can be assessed by comparing it to many other populations in terms of its environmental features. Managers or agents may wish to sample a breath of habitats in which they know goldenseal to occur in their jurisdiction.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Support research on the population dynamics of goldenseal (analysis of high intensity monitoring data).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> A literature search, covering from 1988 to 1999, found five references to goldenseal (four when searching with 'goldenseal', one when searching with ' Hydrastis canadensis '), none of which were pertinent to the ecology or population biology of the species.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis L.) has just recently been listed in CITES Appendix II. The species is designated as Threatened in Canada (COSEWIC), with priority 1 ranking (the highest) for protection, where it occurs only in the extreme southern parts of Ontario.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis L.) distribution, phenology, and biomass in an oak-hickory (Quercus-Carya ovata) forest.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Harvesting goldenseal from the wild in the early 1800s was not an activity for the faint of hearth.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Why would a vegetatively propagating plant like ramps (and goldenseal) be just as vulnerable to harvesting as ginseng, which reproduces exclusively from seed? Because vegetative propagation is a highly successful means of establishing new plants (clonal individuals), as opposed to the establishment of seedlings, which has a high level of failure.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The detailed monitoring will reveal differences in the potential of each site to sustain goldenseal harvesting or not.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The sum of all transition probabilities in each goldenseal matrix column, omitting the seed number cell, is equal to one when the mortality probability is added.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Solicit and encourage participation in the monitoring program, on a reduced scale, from all states where goldenseal occurs, but where it is not legal to harvest.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Require participation in the monitoring program of all states where goldenseal harvest is allowed.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
All of the current useful information about goldenseal biology and ecology comes from agricultural literature, most notably the USDA farmers' bulletin written by Van Fleet (1914, revised in 1949 Van Fleet opnbrkt1914, revised in 1949 ) and the more recent paper by Davis (1995) Davis opnbrkt1995clsbrkt. This information is summarized below.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Limited available information suggests that goldenseal may be easier to cultivate than ginseng, tolerating higher light levels and having fewer pests and diseases.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
The harvest of goldenseal is not really sustainable in a biological sense, unless harvested populations are not entirely decimated and are left to recover for numerous years. We know that such a scenario is very unlikely. Nowadays, most populations are harvested in their entirety when found.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Goldenseal growth patterns involve producing a new annual stem on a horizontal rhizome. This will lead to the movement of marked individuals (a small distance every year) in the forest understory.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Deciduous forest understories are notoriously dark, allowing only 5 to 15 % of sunlight to reach the forest floor. Goldenseal growers use 70 to 75 % artificial shading over their crop, which therefore receives 30 to 25 % of the sunlight. This increase in available light (from 5-15 % to 25-30 %) boosts productivity.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Even though goldenseal occurs in soils that are nutrient rich (for forest soils) and moist (except during occasional extended periods without rain), the soils are fertilized in the agricultural situation and may be irrigated in periods of drought. These soil factors again boost productivity.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Goldenseal is known to mostly propagate vegetatively. These new vegetative recruits will need to be mapped, their demographic parameters measured, and the plant of origin (mother plant) identified (close proximity of a large plant may be sufficient, although a shallow excavation of root connections confirms origin).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> A yearly harvest is evidently not sustainable, considering the slow growth of the plant. Goldenseal appears to propagate mainly vegetatively, and some useful comparison may be made with ramps ( Allium tricoccum ) where this is also the case ( Nault and Gagnon 1993 ).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> In general and over most of the species' range, July is certainly the best month to conduct field work on goldenseal. Earlier, the fruit may be under-developed and the seed they contain impossible to count by visual inspection. Later, the fruit may have begun falling and smaller plants may have started their fall senescence.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
Even though the current supply of goldenseal still comes mostly from wild harvested roots, it has already been widely cultivated (Arkansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin). Ginseng growers can use their shading installations to grow goldenseal, allowing for crop diversification.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Decree a moratorium on the harvest of wild goldenseal in order to allow cultivation to become a more viable option.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Traditionally, goldenseal was mostly harvested from the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia by people whose economy included the harvest of several wild crops (ginseng, May-apple, etc.).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
The COSEWIC report for goldenseal in Canada ( White 1991) White 1991clsbrkt and the proposal to include goldenseal in Appendix II of the CITES agreement ( USFWS/OSA 1997 ) contain no published references to goldenseal ecology, except for only two papers.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> There are no signs that goldenseal is becoming easier to find, more to the contrary (see several quotes in USFWS/OSA USFWS/OSA proposal, 1997). This brings us to the change in socio-economic factors, which may have, at some point in the past, been appropriate to sustain a harvest of goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
There are nowadays more people who know of the high value of goldenseal and who are out there looking for it, even as a weekend activity.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The high density of goldenseal patches may make the engraved nail method impractical and even damaging to the plants' roots.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Habitat fragmentation may prevent goldenseal from recolonizing sites where it used to grow.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Particular difficulties of goldenseal demographic monitoring 6.3.1. Particular difficulties of goldenseal demographic monitoring 6.3.2.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Perhaps there simply was not enough people digging goldenseal in the past to deplete the resource. Or maybe the income produced was not sufficient to support a family, and time was better devoted to other activities, such as hunting and agriculture.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The studied populations should be revisited in one year's time, in early to mid-July, to record demographic data for all mapped and numbered individual goldenseal plants. The same will be repeated in subsequent years.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Agriculture can produce a marketable goldenseal root in three or four years. A goldenseal plant growing in the wild will require at least four to five times that amount of time to produce a root of equivalent size, and this is assuming optimal forest growing conditions.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> There is no logical reason why goldenseal populations would behave differently than any other of the forest perennial herbs already studied. Therefore, harvesting impacts are likely to be serious on any goldenseal population, and only sufficient recovery time (several years, perhaps a decade) between harvests can make it sustainable. This lengthy recovery scenario is extremely unlikely to occur nowadays.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The impact of harvesting on goldenseal populations can nevertheless be inferred to be detrimental, based on comparisons with other clonal forest perennial herbs.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> To my knowledge, no study has been made of the population dynamics of natural goldenseal populations. Dr. Jim McGraw from the University of West Virginia will be initiating a research program on this species in the wild starting in 1999 (J. Alvarez, pers. com.). This research should produce sound information about the population biology of goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Assuming each state agrees to support the intensive monitoring of 10 goldenseal populations, at a level necessary for population dynamics information (see section 6.3 section 6.3 below), an additional 20 to 30 goldenseal populations should be monitored for general population trends.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Site data and vegetation data for each monitored population are required, in order to be able to determine if the intensively monitored populations are representative of the majority of goldenseal populations in the state (see section 6.3.3 section 6.3.3, and field forms in appendices 1 1 and 2 2 ).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Through contacts, create a network of known goldenseal populations that are legally protected from harvesting (national parks, state parks, Nature Conservancy properties, other private conservation areas). Choose some of these protected areas for at least half of all monitored populations.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> A characteristic of goldenseal population monitoring, as is also the case for ginseng, is the level of confidentiality, or even secrecy, involved in the record keeping of accurate locations of the existing or monitored populations.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Populations identified on maps may disappear very rapidly if the information reaches unscrupulous people. Because of this, private land owners and even public servants may be very reluctant to divulge the location of the populations they know. Therefore, good security and very limited access to precise site information is essential for success. Otherwise, the monitoring process may itself cause the disappearance of goldenseal populations.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Recommendations are proposed for the monitoring and the conservation of goldenseal populations.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
No evidence of recent natural disturbance (wind, herbivore, etc.). Again, this criteria is aimed at achieving a certain sampling uniformity, but it may be interesting to include goldenseal populations that occur in young successional stands, or in forests that have been selectively cut.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Detailed protocols for two levels of goldenseal population monitoring are included. This report provides a scientific basis for initiating a monitoring program of goldenseal populations, and for the eventual clarification of its population dynamics and vulnerability to harvests.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> 5. The recommendations below are suggested to reduce negative impacts of harvesting on goldenseal populations, to increase knowledge about the population dynamics and actual field status of goldenseal in the U.S., and to enhance its conservation.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> A maximum number of goldenseal populations should be monitored for basic population trends.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Mapping can be facilitated by temporarily placing colored plastic tapes on some trees and temporarily flagging each goldenseal plant encountered (all tapes and flags to be removed after mapping is completed). The exact location of each goldenseal plant with two leaves or more will also be transferred on this map. Each of these plants will be attributed a sequential number.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> As details about the size and number of leaves of each plant will be noted, relocation problems should be minimal the following year (as goldenseal plants will generally look the same from year to year).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Signs of herbivore pressure should be recorded for each goldenseal plant monitored, although herbivory by deer has not been reported (probably because of the strong alkaloids also found in the leaves).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a>
Vegetative propagation (clonal growth) will produce high genetic uniformity within most populations. Depending on its size, a goldenseal plant will have from one to three leaves. These leaves are palmate, broadly rounded and five to seven-lobed (more conspicuously five-parted).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Vegetative propagation is also possible through budding on the long fibrous roots that emerge laterally from the rhizome ( Van Fleet 1949 ). This well developed vegetative propagation results in dense patches of goldenseal plants, of up to 100 stems in a single square meter ( White 1991 ).<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The information it contains is completed with the analysis of a soil sample. This soil sample, of approximately 500 ml in volume, is taken from a 5 to 15 cm depth in the mineral soil (after removing litter). This depth corresponds to the average rooting depth of mature goldenseal plants.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> Using recognizable permanent landmarks (boulder, large tree), patches of goldenseal plants will be mapped, using as many patches as necessary to achieve the required minimum number.<a href="
http://www.nps.gov/plants/MEDICINAL/pubs/goldenseal.htm" TARGET="_blank"
[2]</a> The ability of goldenseal, kava kava, black cohosh and valerian extracts to modulate human CYP activity was evaluated individually on four separate occasions in each subject. This was an open-label study randomized for supplementation sequence.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Single time-point, phenotypic metabolic ratios were used to determine whether long-term supplementation of goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis ), black cohosh ( Cimicifuga racemosa ), kava kava ( Piper methysticum ), or valerian ( Valeriana officinalis ) extracts affected CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, or CYP3A4/5 activity.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> The effects of prolonged goldenseal, black cohosh, kava kava, or valerian extract supplementation on CYP phenotypic ratios are shown in Figures 1 - 4 and Table I.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Botanical supplements containing goldenseal strongly inhibited CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5 activity in vivo, while kava inhibited CYP2E1 and black cohosh weakly inhibited CYP2D6.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
A methodological explanation for the observed absence of CYP3A4/5 or CYP2D6 inhibition following kava administration seems unlikely since single-time point phenotypic ratios clearly identified an inhibitory effect for goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Of the four botanicals tested, goldenseal produced significant reductions in CYP3A4/5 (p < 0.0001, Figure 1A ) and CYP2D6 phenotypes (p < 0.0001, ure 2A); kava kava significantly reduced phenotypic ratios for CYP2E1 (p 0.009, Figure 4B ); and black cohosh exhibited a statistically significant decrease in CYP2D6 phenotype (p 0.02, Figure 2C ).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Figure 2 Comparison of pre- and post-supplementation phenotypic ratios (8-hour debrisoquine urinary recovery ratios) for CYP2D6. (A) Goldenseal, (B) Kava kava, (C) Black cohosh, (D) Valerian.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> We kindly acknowledge Brian Schaneberg, Ph.D. at the University of Mississippi for assistance in the phytochemical analysis of goldenseal, kava kava, black cohosh, and valerian.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Twelve healthy volunteers (6 females) were randomly assigned to receive goldenseal, black cohosh, kava kava, or valerian for 28 days.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Product labels were followed regarding the administration of goldenseal root extract (900 mg, three times daily, no standardization claim), kava kava root extract (1000 mg, twice daily, no standardization claim); black cohosh root extract (1090 mg, twice daily, each capsule standardized to 0.2% triterpene glycosides); and valerian root extract (125 mg, three times daily, no standardization claim).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
Single-time point CYP phenotypic ratios indicated that goldenseal supplementation significantly inhibited human CYP3A4/5 and CYP2D6 activity in vivo. Therefore, in order to avoid potentially serious pharmacokinetic interactions, goldenseal supplements should not be taken concomitantly with conventional medications. Black cohosh exhibited mild inhibition of CYP2D6, however, the clinical relevancy of this effect remains uncertain.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
Using human hepatic microsomes, Chatterjee and Franklin 50 50 50 50 found that goldenseal extract as well as its two principal isoquinoline alkaloids, berberine and hydrastine, inhibited CYP2D6-mediated bufuralol 1′-hydroxylation. Of the two alkaloids, berberine was more inhibitory toward bufuralol 1′-hydroxylation (IC 50 45 μM) than hydrastine (IC 50 350 μM), implying a greater contribution of this phytochemical to CYP2D6 inhibition.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Budzinski et al first noted that commercial extracts of Hydrastis canadensis were potent in vitro inhibitors of CYP3A4. 12 Chatterjee and Franklin later observed that goldenseal extracts as well as individual isoquinoline alkaloids inhibited CYP3A4-mediated testosterone 6β-hydroxylation. 50 In the case of CYP3A4, however, hydrastine was more inhibitory (IC 50 25 μM) than berberine (IC 50 400 μM).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Accordingly, serious adverse interactions may result from the concomitant ingestion of goldenseal supplements and drugs that are CYP2D6 and CYP3A4/5 substrates.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Comparisons of pre- and post-supplementation phenotypic ratio means revealed significant inhibition (~40%) of CYP2D6 (difference −0.228; 95% CI −0.268 to −0.188) and CYP3A4/5 (difference −1.501; 95% CI −1.840 to −1.163) activity for goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
Single lots of goldenseal (lot # 303415) and kava kava (lot #V4694K06) were purchased from the same vendor (Wild Oats Markets, Inc. Boulder, CO.).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a> Chatterjee P, Franklin MR. Human cytochrome P450 inhibition and metabolic-intermediate complex formation by goldenseal extract and its methylenedioxyphenyl components.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1894911" TARGET="_blank"
[3]</a>
With the exception of goldenseal’s effect on C max (14% increase), no statistically significant effects on digoxin pharmacokinetics were observed following supplementation with either goldenseal or kava kava. When compared to rifampin and clarithromycin, supplementation with these specific formulations of goldenseal or kava kava did not appear to affect digoxin pharmacokinetics, suggesting that these supplements are not potent modulators of P-gp in vivo.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Apart from a 14% increase in digoxin C max following goldenseal, no other significant changes in digoxin pharmacokinetics were observed as a result of goldenseal or kava kava supplementation ( Fig. 1 ; Table 1 ).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Due to the significant underreporting of drug interactions and adverse events associated with dietary supplements, more clinical studies are needed to better evaluate the interaction potential of botanical supplements with P-gp substrates. Other popular botanicals that may pose a risk for P-gp-mediated herb-drug interactions include goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis ) and kava kava ( Piper methysticum ).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> The effect of goldenseal, kava kava, rifampin and clarithromycin on digoxin pharmacokinetics was evaluated individually on four separate occasions in each subject. This was an open-label study randomized for supplementation/medication sequence. (“Supplementation/medication” refers to either goldenseal, kava kava, rifampin, or clarithromycin.)<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Comparisons of AUC (0–3), AUC (0–24), C max,, CL/F, and elimination half-life were used to assess the effects of goldenseal, kava kava, rifampin, and clarithromycin on digoxin pharmacokinetics. Rifampin produced significant reductions (p<0.01) in AUC (0–3), AUC (0–24), CL/F, T 1/2, and C max, while clarithromycin increased these parameters significantly (p<0.01).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Gurley BJ, Gardner SF, Hubbard MA, Williams DK, Gentry WB, Khan IA, Shah A. In vivo effects of goldenseal, kava kava, black cohosh, and valerian on human cytochrome P450 1A2, 2D6, 2E1, and 3A4/5 phenotypes.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Serial plasma concentration-time profiles of the P-gp substrate, digoxin, were used to determine whether supplementation with goldenseal or kava kava modified P-gp activity in vivo.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> The effects of clarithromycin, rifampin, goldenseal, and kava kava on serum digoxin concentration versus time profiles are depicted in Figure 1.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
Abourashed EA, Khan IA. High-performance liquid chromatography determination of hydrastine and berberine in dietary supplements containing goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Twenty healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive a standardized goldenseal (3210 mg daily) or kava kava (1227 mg daily) supplement for 14 days, followed by a 30-day washout period.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Each supplementation phase (goldenseal or kava kava) lasted 14 days while each medication phase (rifampin or clarithromycin) was of 7 days duration.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
Product variability may also contribute to the observed discrepancies, not only with regard to vitro/in vivo comparisons, but among clinical studies as well. Commercially available goldenseal and kava formulations have been found to vary widely in their alkaloid content( Edwards and Draper, 2003 Edwards and Draper, 2003 ; Ganzera and Khan, 1999 ; Côté et al, 2004 Côté et al, 2004 ).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Results of phytochemical analyses and disintegration testing for goldenseal and kava are presented in Table 2.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
To date, only garlic oil( Gurley et al., 2002 Gurley et al., 2002 ), goldenseal( Gurley et al., 2005 Gurley et al., 2005 ), and possibly echinacea( Gorski et al., 2004 Gorski et al., 2004 ) appear capable of significantly affecting human CYP activity in vivo.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> For goldenseal analyses, standard solutions of hydrastine and berberine were prepared in methanol:water (50:50, v/v) covering a range of 1–100 μg/mL and used for quantitative purposes.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Goldenseal is a plant native to North America with a history of folk medicine use in the treatment of gastrointestinal disturbances, urinary disorders, hemorrhage, inflammation, and various infections.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> No other liver function indices (e.g. GGT, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, serum albumin) were affected by goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Edwards DJ, Draper EJ. Variations in alkaloid content of herbal products containing goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
Product labels were followed regarding the recommended dosing of goldenseal root extract (1,323 mg, three times daily, standardized to contain 24.1 mg isoquinoline alkaloids per capsule); kava kava rhizome extract (1,227 mg, three times daily, standardized to contain 75 mg kavalactones per capsule); rifampin (300 mg, twice daily); and clarithromycin (500 mg, twice daily).<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> To date, no assessment of the pharmacokinetics of goldenseal alkaloids, when administered as a dietary supplement, have been performed in humans.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Considerable evidence points to the goldenseal alkaloid, berberine, and the kavalactones as being substrates for P-gp.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> From the available data it appears that concentrations in excess of 10–30 μM of either goldenseal alkaloids or kavalactones are required to significantly modify P-gp activity in vitro.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Following oral application, the concentration of goldenseal alkaloids and kavalactones might be considerably higher in the gut wall. From in vitro predictions, such concentrations should be sufficient to modulate P-gp activity within intestinal enterocytes. Our findings contradict these predictions and demonstrate that extrapolation of in vitro results to the in vivo situation remains speculative.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
We observed no clinical evidence of kava-related hepatoxicity; however, moderate elevations in serum AST and ALT were noted in two subjects during the 14-day goldenseal supplementation period. This observation brings into question the safety of chronic goldenseal supplementation.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a> Two subjects exhibited elevated levels of AST (174 IU/L and 183 IU/L; normal range 0–40 IU/L) and ALT (55 IU/L and 97 IU/L; normal range 0–40 IU/L) after 14 days of goldenseal supplementation. These values returned to normal within 7 days of stopping goldenseal.<a href="
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1868501" TARGET="_blank"
[4]</a>
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Description: Goldenseal ( Hydrastis Canadensis ), a member of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), is an herbaceous perennial found in rich hardwood forests throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada. Originally used by Native Americans as both a medicine and a dye, the herb was eventually adopted by the settlers and eclectic physicians in the 19th century. <a href="
http://srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/21009" TARGET="_blank"
[5]</a> Goldenseal has been listed under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II protection since 1997.<a href="
http://srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/21009" TARGET="_blank"
[5]</a> The alkaloids in goldenseal have been found to have antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and tonic effects.<a href="
http://srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/21009" TARGET="_blank"
[5]</a> The findings appeared online last month in the Journal of Lipid Research and are scheduled to appear in print next month. According to senior investigator Jingwen Liu, PhD, this would be a heretofore unreported application for goldenseal, one of the five top-selling herbs in the U.S. "The cholesterol-lowering effect of goldenseal has never been reported in the literature," said Liu, a molecular biologist.<a href="
http://www.research.va.gov/news/research_highlights/goldenseal-092106.cfm" TARGET="_blank"
[6]</a> Previous research by Liu and colleagues found that berberine, an alkaloid found in goldenseal and other herbs, could lower lipids.<a href="
http://www.research.va.gov/news/research_highlights/goldenseal-092106.cfm" TARGET="_blank"
[6]</a> In a small clinical trial published in 2004 in Nature Medicine, a group of Liu's collaborators in China treated 32 hyperlipidemic patients with berberine isolated from the traditional Chinese herb huang lian, or coptis chinensis"used, like goldenseal, mainly as an antimicrobial.<a href="
http://www.research.va.gov/news/research_highlights/goldenseal-092106.cfm" TARGET="_blank"
[6]</a>
In the new research, conducted solely in Liu's VA lab, goldenseal root proved more powerful than berberine by itself as an agent against high cholesterol. Based on the evidence from her cell-culture and hamster experiments, Liu believes that other compounds in goldenseal, in addition to berberine, work in concert to keep lipids in check. Her team identified one of these compounds as canadine. They are working to purify and characterize two others.<a href="
http://www.research.va.gov/news/research_highlights/goldenseal-092106.cfm" TARGET="_blank"
[6]</a> Animal and cell-culture tests by a team at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System have shown that goldenseal root, a popular North American herb used mainly to fight upper respiratory infections, may also be an effective cholesterol-lowering agent.<a href="
http://www.research.va.gov/news/research_highlights/goldenseal-092106.cfm" TARGET="_blank"
[6]</a>
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