Autumn Crocus - Uses & Side Effects

Scientific Name(S): Colchicum autumnale L. Other species used medicinally have included C. speciosum Steven and C. vernum (L.) Ker-Gawl. Family: Liliaceae

Common Name(S): Crocus, autumn crocus, fall crocus, meadow saffron, mysteria, vellorita, wonder bulb

Autumn Crocus is an herbal medicine sometimes used to treat gout and Familial Mediterranean Fever.

Botany: These plants are members of the lily family and are often cultivated for their long, ornamental flowers. This perennial herb grows to about 1 foot in height and has a fleshy conical root (corm). The corm has a bitter, acrid taste and radish-like odor. Low-lying leaves are found around the base of the plant, emanating from the bulb. The plant is native to grassy meadows and woods and riverbanks in Ireland, England and portions of Europe, and has been cultivated throughout much of the world.

History: The plant and its extracts have been used for centuries in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, dropsy, prostate enlargement and gonorrhea. Extracts have been used to treat cancers. Today the plant serves as the primary source of colchicine, which is used therapeutically to treat gout and experimentally in cellular chromosomal studies. In addition to its FDA approved use (gout), colchicine has been used in the following conditions: Treatment of neurologic disability due to chronic progressive multiple sclerosis, familial Mediterranean fever, hepatic cirrhosis, primary biliary cirrhosis, adjunctive treatment of primary amyloidosis, Behcet's disease, pseudogout, skin manifestations of scleroderma, psoriasis, palmo-plantar pustulosis and dermatitis herpetiformis.

Uses of Autumn Crocus

The plant and its extracts are used to treat gout and related inflammatory disorders. Autumn crocus may ameliorate hepatitis, cirrhosis and various other ills. Your medicine may be causing these symptoms which may mean you are allergic to it.

• Breathing problems or tightness in your throat or chest
• Chest pain
• Skin hives, rash, or itchy or swollen skin

Side Effects of Autumn Crocus

All parts are highly toxic. It can produce intoxication, severe gastric distress, shock, etc., and inhibit normal cell growth.

Dosage: Talk with your caregiver about how much Autumn Crocus you should take. The amount depends on the strength of the medicine and the reason you are taking Autumn Crocus. If you are using this medicine without instructions from your caregiver, follow the directions on the medicine bottle. Do not take more medicine or take it more often than the directions tell you to.

Toxicology: The entire plant is toxic, due primarily to the colchicine content. Gastrointestinal disturbances are common following acute therapeutic use of colchicine.

After ingestion of the plant, immediate burning of the mouth and throat is followed by intense thirst, nausea and vomiting. Abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea develop. Fluid loss may lead to hypovolemic shock. Renal impairment with oliguria has been reported. The intoxication follows a long course due to the slow elimination of colchicine from the body. Fluid replacement and supportive therapy is recommended. No specific antidote is available for colchicine poisoning. Emesis followed by gastric lavage has been of value along with supportive therapy for shock.

Veterinary poisonings have been associated with the autumn crocus, and these are often observed in grazing animals. Children, as well as calves, have been reported to have been intoxicated by drinking milk from cows that have ingested the plant. Human intoxications have occurred after corms were mistaken for onions and others have suffered over dosages from seed- or corm-derived natural medicinals.

The volatiles emitted during the commercial slicing of the fresh corm can irritate the nostrils and throat and fingertips holding the corm may become numb. Toxicity has been observed when colchicine accidentally was taken by nasal insufflation in place of methamphetamine.

Prolonged therapeutic use of colchicine may cause agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia and peripheral neuritis. The lowest reported human lethal dose is 186 g in 4 days. Although ingestion of 7 mg of colchicine has been reported to be lethal to man, the more typical lethal dose is 65 mg.

Summary: The autumn crocus is a pretty ornamental that has a long history of medicinal use. The main component, colchicine, is highly effective in the management of gout and related inflammatory disorders, but also is extremely toxic. Colchicine is now being investigated for the management of chronic inflammatory hepatic diseases.