Ruscus aculeatus L. - Asparagaceae - butcher's broom, **Stechender Mäusedorn**

"Low evergreen Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves." [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruscus_aculeatus]]

"Extracts from Butcher’s broom rhizome (Ruscus aculeatus) have been widely used in the oral treatment of lower leg edema in patients with chronic venous insufficiency... For the changes in the symptoms heavy lower legs, sensation of tension, and tingling sensation a significant positive correlation with the changes in leg volume was shown. Overall assessment of efficacy was significantly better for ruscus extract compared to placebo." \\
[Efficacy and Safety of a Butcher’s Broom Preparation (//Ruscus aculeatus L.// Extract) Compared to Placebo in Patients Suffering from Chronic Venous Insufficiency. Vanscheidt, W., Jost, V., Wolna, P., Lücker, P. W., Müller, A., Theurer, C., ... & Grützner, K. I., Arzneimittelforschung, Vol.52 (4), 2002, 243-250]

{{:ruscogenin.jpg|}} ruscogenin

"Ruscogenin (RUS), first isolated from Ruscus aculeatus, also a major steroidal sapogenin of traditional Chinese herb Radix Ophiopogon japonicus, has been found to exert significant anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic activities... The results showed that ruscogenin significantly suppressed zymosan A–evoked peritoneal total leukocyte migration in mice in a dose-dependent manner, while it had no obvious effect on PGE2 content in peritoneal exudant. Ruscogenin also inhibited TNF-α–induced over expression of ICAM-1 both at the mRNA and protein levels and suppressed NF-κB activation considerably by decreasing NF-κB p65 translocation and DNA binding activity. These findings provide some new insights that may explain the possible molecular mechanism of ruscogenin and Radix Ophiopogon japonicus for the inhibition of endothelial responses to cytokines during inflammatory and vascular disorders." \\
[Possible Mechanism of the Anti-inflammatory Activity of Ruscogenin: Role of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 and Nuclear Factor-κB, Huang, Ya-Lin, et al. , Journal of pharmacological sciences, Vol.108 (2), 2008, 198-205]

Products for oral medication should be standardized to 7-11 mg total ruscogenin daily. \\
[Phytotherapie bei chronisch venöser Insuffizienz, U. Kastner, B. Kopp, Dept.f.Pharmakognosie Univ.Wien] \\
[[http://www.univie.ac.at/pharmakognosie/files/protected/Kastner/Teil_4%20.1_Venenleiden.pdf]] 

{{:ruscus_aculeatus.jpg?500}} \\
Thomé,O.W., Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz, Tafeln, vol.1, t.114 (1885) \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=895527]]