Queen's Delight
Scientific Name(s): Stillingia sylvatica Garden ex L.
Common Name(s): Cockup-hat, Indian flea root, Marcory, Nettle potato, Queen's delight, Queen's root, Silverleaf, Stillingia, Yaw-root
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Aug 21, 2023.
Clinical Overview
Use
No pharmacologic studies have been reported on whole plant extracts.The chemical constituent prostratin is of research interest for chemotherapeutic effects.
Dosing
There is no clinical evidence to support specific dosage recommendations for queen's delight.
Contraindications
No longer considered safe.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Documented adverse effects. Not to be used while nursing. Avoid use.
Interactions
None well documented.
Adverse Reactions
Information is lacking. Stillingia root is a purgative and irritant product that should be avoided.
Toxicology
Information is lacking. The presence of phorbols (protein kinase C activator) suggests mutagenicity is possible.
Scientific Family
- Euphorbiaceae (spurge)
Botany
Queen's delight is a perennial herb that grows in the sandy soils of pine barrens from Texas and Oklahoma east to Virginia and Florida.(USDA 2021) When broken, the stems exude an acrid white sap, as do many spurges. The small yellowish flowers are borne on a terminal spike, with the few female flowers at the base below the more numerous male flowers. The three-chambered seedpod forcibly ejects the ripe seed. The rootstock and rhizome are large and woody. The scientific name honors the English botanist A.B. Stillingfleet. The genus was monographed in 1951.(Rogers 1951) Oil of stillingia is a fixed oil derived from the Chinese tree Sapium sebiferum, which was formerly classified as a species of Stillingia.(Aitzmetmuller 1992)
History
American Indians used the root to repel fleas; Creek Indian women were reported to consume the boiled, mashed roots after giving birth.Altschul 1977, Krochmal 1973 The root was used in the southern United States for constipation, as a purgative, and to treat syphilis and liver, skin, and lung diseases.Krochmal 1973 The dried root is considered to be less toxic than the fresh root. Stillingia was used by the Eclectic medical movement and is an optional ingredient in the controversial Hoxsey cancer formula.Hartwell 1982, Krochmal 1973 It has also been used in homeopathy. A number of 19th century studies were published on analysis of Stillingia root while the plant has been largely ignored recently, even though it remained in the National Formulary until 1947.Harmanson 1882, Youngken 1939
Chemistry
Chemical constituents of interest elucidated from the plant include gnidilatidin and gnidilatin, prostatin and prostratin, silvacrol, stillingia Factors s1-8, and stillingine.Adolf 1980, Duke 1992, Newall 1996 The plant contains an essential oil, protein, resin and tannin. Hydrogen cyanide has also been identified.Aitzmetmuller 1992, Duke 1992
Uses and Pharmacology
Studies have been conducted with prostratin.
Antiretroviral effects (of prostratin)
Animal and in vitro data
Prostratin has been identified in the plant, with synthetic versions of the protein kinase C activator being evaluated in studies. Prostratin appears to induce HIV expression from latent CD4+ T cells in HIV-infected individuals, with the potential to then enhance elimination, alone and in combination with other compounds.(Archin 2014, Beans 2013, Rochat 2017) Through activation of protein kinase C, it is able to inhibit HIV infection through downregulation of the HIV cellular entry receptors CD4 and CXCR4, and possibly CCR5.(Andersen 2018)
Chemotherapeutic effects (of prostratin)
Animal and in vitro data
Prostratin has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of myeloid leukemia cells.(Shen 2015) In an in vitro study, prostratin was found to exert selective cytotoxicity against breast cancer cell lines. It inhibited CSCR4 expression through downregulation of SIK3 expression.(Alotaibi 2018)
Prostratin blocks HIV infection by downregulating the HIV cellular entry receptors CD4 and CXCR4, and possibly CCR5
Dosing
There is no clinical evidence to support specific dosage recommendations for queen's delight. Classical use of queen's delight called for 2 g of the root, however the presence of irritant and potentially cytotoxic phorbol esters in this plant contraindicates therapeutic use.Adolf 1980
Pregnancy / Lactation
Documented adverse effects. Not to be used while nursing.McGuffin 1997 Avoid use.
Interactions
None well documented. Caution may be warranted with concomitant anti-HIV medicines.
Adverse Reactions
Do not ingest or use topically in human medicine. Observe particular caution with the fresh root, which appears to be more toxic than the dried product. Stillingia root is a purgative and irritant product that should be avoided because of a high likelihood of tumor promotion and documented severe irritancy to skin.Adolf 1980
Toxicology
Information is lacking. The presence of phorbols (protein kinase C activator) suggests mutagenicity is possible.Adolf 1980
References
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Further information
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