Alcea Rosea

Alcea rosea, the common hollyhock, is an ornamental dicot flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It was imported into Europe from southwestern China during, or possibly before, the 15th century.[2] William Turner, a herbalist of the time, gave it the name "holyoke" from which the English name derives.

alcea rosea

Alcea rosea is variously described as a biennial (having a two-year life cycle), as an annual, or as a short-lived perennial.[3][4][5] It frequently self-sows, which may create a perception that the plants are perennial.[3] The plant may flower during its first year when sown early.[4] It will grow in a wide range of soils, and can easily reach a height of 8 ft (2.4 m)

Alcea rosea, or Hollyhocks, are herbaceous flowering plants that reseed themselves and can produce colonies of plants that return in the garden year after year. They are typically found in cultivated areas and rarely in "the wild". Their original habitat is unknown, but the plant is probably a cultigen that started out in Turkey. Note that it is sometimes listed in nursery catalogs under Althaea.

Alcea rosea, commonly called hollyhocks, are old garden favorites. The flowers grow on rigid, towering spikes or spires which typically reach a height of 5-8' tall and usually do not require staking. Foliage features large, heart-shaped (3, 5 or 7 lobes), rough lower leaves which become progressively smaller toward the top of the spire. Long bloom period of June to August. Sometimes listed in nursery catalogs under Althaea.Genus name is the Latin name from the Greek word alkaia for a kind of mallow.Specific epithet means pink.This is a mix of plants which produce huge (4-5" diameter), outward-facing, single flowers in a wide variety of colors including reds, pinks, whites, and light yellows.

Leaves and flowers of Malva sylvestris and Alcea rosea (Malvaceae) were compared by determination of the swelling index as well as the content and viscosity of their mucilages. The investigations showed mucilage from flowers of Alcea to be superior to mucilages from leaves or flowers from Malva. High molecular weight acidic polysaccharides (HMWAPs) were isolated from the mucilages of leaves and flowers of both species. The molecular weight of all HMWAPs was in a range of 1.3 to 1.6 x 10(6) D. HMWAP-content in mucilage from flowers of Alcea was highest compared to content in mucilages from leaves or flowers from Malva. HMWAPs were found to be composed mainly of glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, rhamnose and galactose. Methylation analysis of the carboxyl-reduced and deuterium labeled sugar derivatives of HMWAPs from flowers of Malva sylvestris ssp. mauritiana and Alcea rosea enabled elucidation of the principal structural features of both polysaccharides.

Introduction: Alcea rosea L. is used in Asian folk medicine as a remedy for a wide range of ailments. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots on ethylene glycol-induced kidney calculi in rats.

Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, ethylene glycol (EG), curative and preventive groups. Control group received tap drinking water for 28 days. Ethylene glycol (EG), curative and preventive groups received 1% ethylene glycol for induction of calcium oxalate (CaOx) calculus formation; preventive and curative subjects also received the hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots in drinking water at dose of 170 mg/kg, since day 0 or day 14, respectively. Urinary oxalate concentration was measured by spectrophotometer on days 0, 14 and 28. On day 28, the kidneys were removed and examined histopathologically under light microscopy for counting the calcium oxalate deposits in 50 microscopic fields.

Results: In both preventive and curative protocols, treatment of rats with hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea roots significantly reduced the number of kidney calcium oxalate deposits compared to ethylene glycol group. Administration of Alcea rosea extract also reduced the elevated urinary oxalate due to ethylene glycol.

Conclusion: Alcea rosea showed a beneficial effect in preventing and eliminating calcium oxalate deposition in the rat kidney. This effect is possibly due to diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects or presence of mucilaginous polysaccharides in the plant. It may also be related to lowering of urinary concentration of stone-forming constituents.

Urine oxalate concentration in experimental groups. CTRL= control group (n =5), EG=ethylene glycol group (n =8), Preventive and Curative (n =7 in each): groups treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea(175 mg/kg) since day 0 or day 14, respectively, through the end of the experiment. Data were expressed as mean SEM, *P

The number of calcium oxalate crystal deposits in 50 microscopic fields of experimental groups. CTRL: control group (n =7), EG: ethylene glycol group (n =7), Preventive and Curative (n =7 in each): groups treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea (175 mg/kg) since day 0 or day 14, respectively, through the end of the experiment. Data were expressed as mean SEM, *P

There is evidence that in response to ethylene glycol administration, young male Albino rats form renal calculi composed mainly of calcium oxalate.[7,20,21] Stone formation in ethylene glycol fed animals is caused by hyperoxaluria, which causes increased excretion of oxalate and its urinary concentration.[20] Therefore, this model was used to evaluate the effect of Alcea rosea root extract on calcium oxalate urolithiasis.

Consistent with some previous reports, stone induction by ethylene glycol caused an increase in oxalate excretion[20,22] and cotreatment with Alcea rosea root extract reduced the rate of increase in the oxalate excretion.

Firstly, hyperoxaluria is a major risk factor in calcium oxalate stone formation; the hydroalcoholic extract of Alcea rosea was able to reduce the urine oxalate in treatment groups on day 28. Thus, it seems that the preventive effect of Alcea rosea extract on CaOx formation can be in part attributed to alteration of urine oxalate concentration. Alcea rosea could possibly control the levels of oxalate by inhibiting the synthesis of oxalate.

Secondly, since the concentration rather than the amount of the crystallising solutes is what ultimately establishes stone formation, reduced urinary volume will amplify the saturation of all solutes and raise the risk of all stone formation.[1] It has been reported that Alcea rosea has diuretic activity,[15] so the curative and prophylactic treatment with Alcea rosea extract causes diuresis and it can hasten the process of dissolving the preformed stones and prevention of new stone formation in urinary system.

Thirdly, acute and chronic production of calcium oxalate and crystal deposition induces lipid peroxidation. The generation of lipid peroxidation due to reactive oxygen species causes renal epithelial cell injury which promotes calcium oxalate stone formation by providing cellular debris for crystal nucleation and aggregation, and augments crystal attachment to other tubular cells.[23] Several studies have reported that Alcea possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.[15,16,24,25] Therefore, the role of Alcea rosea in preventing formation of CaOx calculi and disruption of them, as seen in the present study, may be in part due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the different compounds of Alcea rosea. These compounds may interfere with the process of epithelial cell damage induced by crystals or may exert inhibitory effect on inflammation.

Fourthly, the plant extract may interfere directly in the inhibition of crystal adhesion to the epithelium by blocking the attachment sites located either into the cell surfaces or into the surface of the crystals themselves. It has been reported that Alcea rosea roots contain bioadhesive and mucilaginous polysaccharides,[26,27] leading to the physical formation of mucin-like substances which coat crystals and block their adhesion to the cell surface.

Plants and plant products imported into the USA are inspected at ports of entry for pests including insects, mollusks, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi (McCullough et al. 2006). Plant pests that are found during inspections may be barred from entering the USA depending on their risk to agriculture and natural ecosystems and whether the pests are already established within the country. Some frequently imported plants include species of Malvoideae, the mallow subfamily that includes economically important plants such as cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), and many ornamental plants including hollyhock (Alcea rosea) (Baum et al. 2004). Alcea rosea, a plant grown worldwide, is often intercepted at ports of entry infected with rust fungi.

Many rust fungi can infect A. rosea. Six species of Puccinia have been reported to produce telia on A. rosea: P. heterogenea, P. heterospora, P. lobata, P. malvacearum, P. platyspora, and P. sherardiana (Arthur 1922, Lindquist 1982, Farr & Rossman 2015). All of these species are microcyclic and do not produce uredinia or aecia, have no known alternate hosts, and produce both one-celled and two-celled teliospores with different spore morphologies predominating in different species (Arthur 1922, Lindquist 1982). Another two species of Puccinia, P. interveniens and P. schedonnardi, are reported to produce aecia on A. rosea, and A. rosea is also reported to be infected by two other rust fungi, Endophyllum tuberculatum and Kuehneola malvicola (Arthur 1934, Farr & Rossman 2015). Of these fungi, P. malvacearum is the most widely reported (Farr & Rossman 2015) and the most frequently intercepted at US borders. Puccinia malvacearum has been reported worldwide on a large number of hosts in Malvoideae, primarily in tribe Malveae, including the genera Abutilon, Alcea, Anoda, Hibiscus, Lavatera, Malva, Malvastrum, Pavonia, Sida, and Sidalcea (Farr & Rossman 2015). Puccinia heterogenea, although less commonly reported than P. malvacearum, has also been intercepted at US ports of entry multiple times. Puccinia heterogenea has only been reported from Ecuador and Peru on hosts in Alcea, Malva, and Fuertesimalva (Farr & Rossman 2015) but is morphologically similar to P. malvacearum and frequently misidentified. 041b061a72