Abstract
NUMEROUS physiologically active polypeptides have been found in animals and bacteria, but little has been reported about such substances in plants. A purified substance from an alcohol extract of the herb Capsella bursa-pastoris (Cruciferae), however, exerted contractile activity on the rat uterus which was similar to that of oxytocin and had some characteristics of a polypeptide. Few studies have been made of the chemical composition and pharmacology of this herb, although it has been eaten and used medicinally for haemostasis, diuresis and as an antipyretic in China and Japan for many centuries.
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References
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KURODA, K., TAKAGI, K. Physiologically Active Substance in Capsella bursa-pastoris. Nature 220, 707–708 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220707a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220707a0
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