Is the Star of Bethlehem and the sea onion the same plant?
Scientific name: Ornithogalum caudatum
Common name: sea onion
Family and genus: Liliaceae, Ornithogalum
Category: perennial evergreen herb
Morphological characteristics:
Perennial evergreen herb, with a large bulb up to 10 cm in diameter, standing upright at the soil surface, externally covered with a membranous dry tunic, with the inner fleshy scales light green and glossy, and many small bulbils often produced on the outer surface of the fleshy scales. Leaves emerge from the bulb, usually several, nearly fleshy, strap-shaped, cylindrical at the tip, appearing tail-like, and fully developed leaves can droop and reach more than 1 m in length. The raceme reaches 50-80 cm tall, bears many flowers, the flowers are about 1 cm in diameter, white, and each tepal has 1 green stripe. Seeds black. Flowering period March-May, sometimes also flowering in autumn. Fruiting period May-July.
Place of origin and distribution:
Native to South Africa. Widely grown in pots in both northern and southern China.
Growth habits:
Prefers a warm climate and can overwinter safely above 5°C.
Prefers light, but strong direct sunlight is not suitable in summer; tolerant of drought but not of waterlogging, and suitable for loose loam rich in humus with good drainage.
Uses:
The Star of Bethlehem is a folk herbal medicine, mostly used to treat conditions such as cirrhosis and hepatitis.
At present, the special effects of the Star of Bethlehem have attracted the attention of many scientists at home and abroad. In recent years, scientific research and new discoveries about the "Star of Bethlehem" have frequently appeared in newspapers, making it a focus of research in the pharmaceutical field.
In 2003, with the support of the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry undertook the research and development project "Development and Research of a New Class II Anti-Tumor Traditional Chinese Medicine." Oriented toward demand, they identified the Star of Bethlehem as the research subject. For more than two years, they concentrated on in-depth research into the active ingredients and pharmacological activities of the Star of Bethlehem. Through research on extraction methods for the Star of Bethlehem, they determined the total effective fraction and optimized the extraction process. They used water extraction and alcohol precipitation technology to make the polysaccharide content of the effective fraction reach more than 50%, and established a controllable quality standard.
Experimental results show that the total polysaccharides of the Star of Bethlehem have a significant inhibitory effect on mouse liver cancer H22 and sarcoma S180, can significantly increase the life extension rate of mice with intraperitoneally inoculated liver cancer ascites (HepA), and have no obvious effect on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, or respiratory system of normal experimental animals. Toxicological tests also showed no obvious toxic side effects.