Althaea officinalis L. - Malvaceae - marshmallow, white mallow, **(Echter) Eibisch**, Weiße Malve 

Erect, branched perennial herb, up to 1,20m tall, native to Asia and Europe, naturalized in Northern America, cultivated as ornamental and medicinal plant; leaves ovate, coarsely serrate and commonly shallowly 3-lobed, velvety; flowers several in peduncled clusters from the upper axils, pink or white, 3cm across; bractlets narrowly lanceolate. 


"Partial acid hydrolysis of Althaea-mucilage O, a representative mucous polysaccharide isolated from the roots of Althaea officinalis L., led to the isolation of five oligosaccharides. Analysis of their components, as well as reduction and methylation, and partial degradation studies showed that these oligosaccharides are O-α-(D-galactopyranosyluronic acid)-(1→2)-L-rhamnopyranose, O-β-(D-glucopyranosyluronic acid)-(1→3)-O-α-(D-galactopyranosyluronic acid)-(1→2)-L-rhamnopyranose, and the hexasaccharide, the nonasaccharide, and the dodecasaccharide composed of a repeating unit having the structure of the trisaccharide through position 4 of the D-galacturonic acid residue." \\
[Plant mucilages. XXIV. The structural features of althaea-mucilage O, a representative mucous polysaccharide from the roots of Althaea officinalis., 佐藤訓子, 嶋田和代, Chemical & pharmaceutical bulletin, 28(3), 1980, 824-830]

"An acidic heteropolysaccharide isolated from the mucilage of the roots of the marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis L., var. Rhobusta) via its insoluble barium salt contained d-galactose, l-rhamnose, d-glucuronic acid, and d-galacturonic acid in the molar ratios 1.2:1.0:1.0:1.0. It was homogenous on free-boundary electrophoresis and in the anlytical ultracentrifuge, and it had w = 26,700, n = 23,900. Partial acid hydrolysis and analyses of the methylated and the methylated, carboxyl-reduced polysaccharide indicated that the polymer backbone is composed of (1→4)-linked d-galactopyranuronic acid and (1→2)-linked l-rhamnopyranose units in the ratio of 1:1. Each d-galacturonic unit carries a single β-d-glucopyranuronic residue linked to C-3, and each l-rhamnopyranose unit carries d-galactopyranose residues, mainly as non-reducing terminals linked to C-4. A smal number of presumably short chains of (1→4)-linked d-galactopyranose units are also involved in branching." \\
[Polysaccharides from the roots of the marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis L., var. Rhobusta): structural features of an acidic polysaccharide., Capek, P., Rosík, J., Kardošova, A., Carbohydrate research, 164, 1987, 443-452]

"Aqueous extracts of the roots stimulated phagocytosis, and the release of oxygen radicals and leukotrienes from human neutrophils in vitro. The aqueous extract also induced the release of cytokines, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor from human monocytes in vitro, thereby exhibiting anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulant activity." \\
[Pharmacological activity of Althaea officinalis L., Shah, S., Akhtar, N., Akram, M., Shah, P.A., Saeed, T., Ahmed, K., Asif, H., J Med Plants Res, 5, 5662-5666.] \\
[Einfluss von Radix althaeae und Flores chamomillae Extrakten auf Entzündungsreaktionen humaner neutrophiler Granulozyten, Monozyten und Rattenmastzellen., Scheffer, J., König, W., In 3rd Phytotherapie-Kongress, 1991]

Marshmallow root (Althaeae radix) infusions are taken orally for cough, inflammations of the mucosa of mouth, throatt and stomach. Infusions of the leaves (Althaeae folium) or syrup (Syrupus Althaeae) are used to treat dry cough and inflammation of the respiratory tract. "Commercially, only the roots are used, while leaves and flowers are popular for self-medication... The polysaccharides form a protective film over inflamed mucosal tissues and thus reduce irritation... The well-known marshmallow sweets were once made from root extracts of this plant." \\
[Medicinal Plants of the World. Ben-Erik Van Wyk and Michael Wink, Pretoria 2004, 44]


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Kohl, F.G., Die officinellen Pflanzen der Pharmacopoea Germanica, t.54 (1891-1895) [F.G.Kohl] \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=49022]]

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Althaea officinalis L. [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/|CC BY-SA 3.0]], Author: Andreas Kraska (2023)