Pinellia ternata

Taxobox | name = "Pinellia ternata"

---

image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Mangoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Alismatales
familia = Araceae
genus = "Pinellia"
species = "P. ternata"
binomial = "Pinellia ternata"
binomial_authority = (Thunb.) Makino

"Pinellia ternata" (Chinese:半夏, Japanese:カラスビシャク), crow-dipper, is a plant native to Japan, but also grows as an invasive weed in parts of North America. The leaves are trifoliate, while the flowers are of the spathe and spadix form typical of plants in Araceae.

The plant spreads by rhizomes, and there are also small bulblets (a.k.a. bulbils) at the base of each leaf. Flowers are bourne in spring.

1: Biol Pharm Bull. 2006 Jun;29(6):1278-81. LinksAnti-obesity Effect of Pinellia ternata Extract in Zucker Rats.Kim YJ, Shin YO, Ha YW, Lee S, Oh JK, Kim YS.Natural Products Research Institute and College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University.

Pinellia ternata is known as the herb effective in removing dampness-phlegm, one of the causes of obesity in traditional Korean medicine. Pinellia ternata water extract (PE) was fed to rats after mixing with diet once a day (400 mg.kg(-1)) for 6 weeks. We investigated its effect on the thermogenesis and fatty acids oxidation with obese Zucker rats. We also determined the gene expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), and PPARgamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC1alpha). The PE treatment lowered the levels of triglyceride and free fatty acids (p<0.05) in blood of the obese rats and the body weight was also reduced slightly. It was also observed that PE significantly increased the expression of both UCP1 mRNA in brown adipose tissue (BAT) (p<0.001) and PPARalpha and PGC1alpha mRNA in white visceral adipose tissue (WAT) (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively), which may cause a reduction of obesity. These results suggested that PE would be able to affect anti-obesity through thermogenesis and fatty acid oxidation.

PMID: 16755034 [PubMed - in process]