Scrophularia

"Figwort" redirects here. This is also used for some other plants; see below.

Scrophularia
Scrophularia nodosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Genus:	Scrophularia L.
Species
About 200, see text

The genus Scrophularia of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of Scrophularia all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers forming clusters at the end of their stems. The genus is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but concentrated in Asia with only a few species in Europe and North America.

Scrophularia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Phymatopus hectoides.

Some species in this genus are known to contain potentially useful substances, such as iridoids, and several Scrophularia species, such as the Ningpo figwort or Chinese figwort (S. ningpoensis), have been used by herbal medicine practitioners around the world. The name Scrophularia comes from scrofula, a form of tuberculosis, because several species have been used to treat this disease.

As a herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has found use in a formula to treat arthritis. The herb has demonstrated a powerful painkilling ability equal to that of cortisone and twice as effective as indomethacin, a popular NSAID used to treat arthritis. Scrophularia exerts these significant analgesic effects with virtually no side effects.^[1]

Extracts of Scrophularia have been shown to reduce edema, cell infiltration and proliferation of activated T-lymphocytes in joint tissues.^[2] Additionally, Scrophularia has been shown to inhibit a number of inflammatory factors, including prosta-glandin E2, leukotriene B4, NO, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-2, interleukin-4 and interferon-gamma, but with no negative effect on the production of interleukin-10, a powerful cytokine involved in the regulation of inflammatory responses.^[3] Moreover, Scrophularia is the source of a unique glycoterpenoid, Verbascosaponin A, which is twice as potent as indomethacin for relieving inflammation and pain. .^[4][5]

Selected species

Scrophularia nodosa

Green Figwort.

Scrophularia aequilabris Scrophularia alaschanica Scrophularia amana Scrophularia amplexicaulis Scrophularia aquatica Scrophularia arguta Scrophularia atrata - Black figwort Scrophularia atropatana Scrophularia auriculata - Water figwort Scrophularia balbisii Scrophularia bitlisica Scrophularia buergeriana Scrophularia californica - California figwort Scrophularia candelabrum Scrophularia canina - Dog figwort Scrophularia capillaris Scrophularia carduchorum Scrophularia catariifolia Scrophularia chasmophila Scrophularia chlorantha Scrophularia chrysantha Scrophularia cinerascens Scrophularia crenophila Scrophularia cryptophila Scrophularia delavayi Scrophularia dentata Scrophularia depauperata Scrophularia desertorum Scrophularia diplodonta Scrophularia divaricata Scrophularia elatior Scrophularia erzincanica Scrophularia fargesii Scrophularia floribunda Scrophularia formosana Scrophularia frigida Scrophularia frutescens Scrophularia glabrata Scrophularia grandiflora Scrophularia gypsicola Scrophularia henryi Scrophularia herminii Scrophularia heucheriiflora Scrophularia hopii Scrophularia hypericifolia Scrophularia hypsophila Scrophularia hyssopifolia Scrophularia ilwensis Scrophularia incisa Scrophularia juratensis Scrophularia kansuensis Scrophularia kakudensis Scrophularia kiriloviana Scrophularia kotschyana Scrophularia kurdica Scrophularia laevigata Scrophularia laevis - Smooth figwort Scrophularia lanceolata - Lanceleaf figwort Scrophularia lepidota Scrophularia lhasaensis Scrophularia libanotica Scrophularia lijiangensis

Scrophularia lucida Scrophularia luridiflora Scrophularia macrantha - Mimbres figwort Scrophularia macrobotrys Scrophularia macrocarpa Scrophularia mapienensis Scrophularia marilandica - Late figwort Scrophularia meridionalis Scrophularia mersinensis Scrophularia mesopotamica Scrophularia modesta Scrophularia moellendorffii Scrophularia myriophylla Scrophularia nachitschevanica Scrophularia nankinensis Scrophularia neesii Scrophularia ningpoensis - Ningpo figwort Scrophularia nodosa - Common figwort Scrophularia olympica Scrophularia orientalis Scrophularia paphlagonica Scrophularia parviflora - Pineland figwort Scrophularia pauciflora Scrophularia pegaea Scrophularia peregrina - Nettle-leaved figwort Scrophularia peyronii Scrophularia pinardii Scrophularia pruinosa Scrophularia przewalskii Scrophularia pulverulenta Scrophularia pumilio Scrophularia rimarum Scrophularia rubricaulis Scrophularia sambucifolia Scrophularia scariosa Scrophularia schmitzii Scrophularia scopolii Scrophularia scorodonia - Balm-leaved figwort Scrophularia serratifolia Scrophularia sosnowskyi Scrophularia souliei Scrophularia spicata Scrophularia striata Scrophularia stylosa Scrophularia subaequiloba Scrophularia sublyrata Scrophularia taihangshanensis Scrophularia thesioides Scrophularia trichopoda Scrophularia umbrosa - Green figwort Scrophularia urticifolia Scrophularia variegata Scrophularia vernalis - Yellow figwort Scrophularia versicolor Scrophularia villosa Scrophularia xanthoglossa Scrophularia xylorrhiza Scrophularia yoshimurae Scrophularia yunnanensis Scrophularia zuvandica

Other plants called figwort

Some other plants - mainly Lamiales formerly or still in the Scrophulariaceae - are also called "figwort". These include:

• Euphrasia officinalis (Red eyebright)
• Veronica officinalis (Common speedwell)
• Veronica anagallis-aquatica (Water speedwell)
• Gratiola officinalis (Common hedgehyssop)
• Bacopa monnieri (Coastal waterhyssop)
• Scoparia dulcis (Sweet broomweed)
• Ilysanthes riparia (False pimpernel)

References

1. Jim English (2010). "Traditional Chinese Herbs for Arthritis". Nutrition Review 5 (2). Retrieved 2011-12-29.
2. Schinella GR, Tournier HA, Prieto JM, Mordujovich de Buschiazzo P, Ros JL. Antioxidant activity of anti-inflammatory plant extracts. Life Sci. 2002 Jan 18;70(9):1023-33.
3. Li YM, Han ZH, Jiang SH, Jiang Y, Yao SD, Zhu DY. Fast repairing of oxidized OH radical adducts of dAMP and dGMP by phenylpropanoid glycosides from Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2000 Dec;21(12):1125-8.
4. Giner RM, Villalba ML, Recio MC, Mñez S, Cerd-Nicols M, Ros J. Anti-inflammatory glycoterpenoids from Scrophularia auriculata, Eur J Pharmacol. 2000 Feb 18;389(2-3):243-52.
5. Jim English (2010). "Traditional Chinese Herbs for Arthritis". Nutrition Review 5 (2). Retrieved 2011-12-29.