Is Platycodon grandiflorus (balloon flower) toxic? Latest safety assessment

Platycodon grandiflorus can be eaten as a vegetable and also used as medicine. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, and its root can be used as medicine, with effects such as relieving cough and phlegm, dispersing lung qi, and expelling pus. It is produced in most parts of China and has no direct relationship with oranges or the Citrus genus. Now let us take a look at whether Platycodon grandiflorus is toxic!

Is Platycodon grandiflorus toxic?

Platycodon grandiflorus is non-toxic. After being taken, Platycodon grandiflorus can irritate the gastric mucosa. If the dose is too large, it may cause mild nausea and even vomiting. It should be used with caution in cases of gastric and duodenal ulcers, and the dose should not be too large.

Toxicity tests of Platycodon grandiflorus

Platycodon saponins have a hemolytic effect and cannot be used for injection. After oral administration, they are hydrolyzed and destroyed in the digestive tract, so there is no hemolytic effect. When injected subcutaneously into mice, the minimum lethal dose was 770 mg/kg. The median lethal dose of Platycodon grandiflorus decoction administered by gavage to mice was 24 g/kg. When 40 g/kg of Platycodon grandiflorus decoction was administered by gavage to rabbits, all 5 rabbits died within 24 hours; at a dose of 20 g/kg, all survived.

The hemolytic index of Platycodon saponins varies with source and place of origin, growth years, collection time, processing method, and so on, ranging from 1:100 to 1:1000. The hemolytic effect of the phloem is 4.4 to 6.5 times that of the xylem, and the hemolytic effect of unpeeled Platycodon grandiflorus is slightly greater than that of peeled Platycodon grandiflorus. Therefore, Platycodon grandiflorus cannot be administered by injection. The minimum lethal dose for subcutaneous injection in mice is 770 mg/kg. The median lethal doses of crude Platycodon saponins by gavage in mice and rats are 420 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg respectively, and by subcutaneous injection are 22.3 mg/kg and 14.1 mg/kg respectively. Gavage with a large dose of Platycodon saponins can reflexively excite the vomiting center and may cause nausea and vomiting.

Efficacy and effects of Platycodon grandiflorus

[Nature and flavor] Bitter, pungent, neutral.

[Meridian tropism] Lung meridian.

[Efficacy] Disperses lung qi, removes phlegm, benefits the throat, expels pus, regulates qi, activates blood, promotes digestion, and calms the mind.

1. Cough with excessive phlegm, chest tightness and poor flow: Platycodon grandiflorus is pungent and dispersing, bitter and draining, disperses and opens lung qi, and removes phlegm. It can be used regardless of cold or heat. For wind-cold, combine with Perilla frutescens and apricot kernel, as in Xingsu Powder (Wenbing Tiaobian). For wind-heat, combine with mulberry leaf, chrysanthemum, and apricot kernel, as in Sangju Drink (Wenbing Tiaobian). If treating phlegm stagnation with chest stuffiness, it is often combined with bitter orange.

2. Sore and swollen throat, loss of voice: Platycodon grandiflorus can disperse lung qi and drain pathogens to benefit the throat and open the voice. For any case in which external pathogens attack the lung with sore throat and loss of voice, it is often combined with licorice, burdock fruit, and so on, as in Jiegeng Decoction (Jingui Yaolue) and Jiawei Ganjie Decoction (Yixue Xinwu). To treat sore and swollen throat with exuberant heat toxin, it can be combined with belamcanda rhizome, puffball, and Isatis root to clear heat, resolve toxin, and benefit the throat.

3. Lung abscess with vomiting of pus: Platycodon grandiflorus is dispersing in nature and upward-moving, and can free lung qi to expel the congested pus and phlegm in the lung. To treat lung abscess with cough, chest pain, and fishy-smelling phlegm, it can be combined with licorice, as in Jiegeng Decoction (Jingui Yaolue). Clinically, it may further be combined with Houttuynia cordata, wax gourd seed, and so on to strengthen the effect of clearing the lung and expelling pus.

4. Platycodon grandiflorus has an antitussive effect and can enhance anti-inflammatory and immune effects; its anti-inflammatory strength is similar to aspirin. The water extract can enhance the phagocytic function of macrophages, enhance the bactericidal power of neutrophils, and increase lysozyme activity. It has a preventive effect on stress ulcers.

5. Crude Platycodon saponins have sedative, analgesic, and antipyretic effects, and can also lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and relax smooth muscle. Platycodon saponins have a very strong hemolytic effect, but after oral administration they can be decomposed and destroyed in the digestive tract and lose their hemolytic effect.