Rhus aromatica Ait. - syn.Rhus canadensis Marsh. - Anacardiaceae \\
fragrant sumac, lemon sumac, polecat bush, **Duftender Sumach**, Gewürz-Sumach, Stink-Sumach

Bushy deciduous shrub, up to 1m high, native to eastern North America; leaves alternate, trilobed, crenate to dentate, fragrant when crushed; shiny dark green, autumn color red to purple; flowers greenish-yellow; fruits red.

"The leaves and stems of fragrant sumac have a citrus fragrance when crushed, and it inhabits mostly uplands areas, while poison ivy has no odor and can inhabit various habitats." [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhus_aromatica]]

"Aqueous extracts of plant root or stem bark exhibited anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects. Also inhibition of muscarinic receptor-mediated contraction of human bladder was demonstrated. These properties support the traditional use of Rhus aromatica for the treatment of urinary incontinence, overactive bladder,  cystitis,  functional  bladder  problems  and  certain types of uterine hemorrhages... \\
While a dry aqueous stem/root bark extract of fragrant sumac (fragrant sumac extract) was in the focus of this study, we identified gallic acid as its leading compound. Using HPLC with gallic acid as authentic reference substance, gallic acid could be identified in the fragrant sumac extract. Quantitative analyses revealed a content of about 150 mg gallic acid per gram extract... \\
The extract exhibited a high level of anti-HSV activity with IC50-values of 0.0005 % for HSV-1 and 0.0043% for HSV-2 as well as high selectivity indices (SI) of 5400 for HSV-1 and 628 for HSV-2... \\
Apparently, pretreated herpesviruses are very sensitive to the fragrant sumac extract tested. This finding suggests that fragrant sumac extract interferes with virion envelope structures or is masking viral compounds which are necessary for adsorption or entry into host cells. Furthermore, the inhibition of HSV-1 and HSV-2 replication appears to occur before entering the cells but not after penetration of the viruses into the cells...  therapeutic application of a fragrant sumac extract containing cream, or oral dosage form as antiviral agents in recurrent herpesvirus infection or as protecting agent appears to be promising." \\
[Antiviral activity of Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumac) extract against two types of herpes simplex viruses in cell culture., Reichling, J., Neuner, A., Sharaf, M., Harkenthal, M., Schnitzler, P., Die Pharmazie, Vol.64(8), 2009, 538-541]

{{:rhus_aromatica.jpg?600}} \\
Millspaugh, C.F., American medicinal plants, vol.1 t.39 (1892) \\
[[http://www.plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=878499]]