CIRSIUM (L) Mill. (ASTERACEAE), AN EMBLEMATIC GENUS IN TRADITIONAL MEXICAN MEDICINE. CENTURY XVI TO XXI

Abstract

In Mexico, the genus Cirsium (Asteraceae) comprise 58 species, which are popularly known as "cardos" (thistles), this term has its origin in Spain. They are also named in  Nahuatl as uitzquílitl (thorny quelite) which can be modified by di?erent prefixes. Our group has studied chemically and pharmacologically Cirsium ehrenbergii, named in the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano as huitzquilitl and quauitzquílitl (wild spiny quelite) as part of Nigris Sanguinis Remedium (Remedy against Black Blood), a disease interpreted as “depression”. This pre-Hispanic medicinal use motivated us to investigate whether other species of Cirsium that are distributed in Mexico are used in contemporary traditional medicine. Sixteen species of Cirsium were determined to have some ethnomedical report. ?ese are used for a variety of diseases and ailments, including those of the respiratory tract, sexual transmission, and the circulatory system. ?e species for which the most uses are reported is C. ehrenbergii. To date, it has been used to treat «nerves», a disease related to depression. Cirsium mexicanum and Cirsium subcoreaceum are also used to treat fright and anxiety, which are closely related to depression. Of the 58 species of Cirsium, only five have been studied where the isolation of compounds and/or biological activity are reported. In addition four are reported as edible.