FAMILY — LEGUMINOUS (PAPILIONACEAE) — FABACEAE (LEGUMINOSAE)
Climatic conditions determine the growth of wild species that belong only to the papilionaceous subfamily — Papiloconaceae, which, with a few exceptions, are not medicinal plants.
Herbaceous plants, shrubs, or trees. The leaves are alternate, usually compound—pinnately or palmately compound, often with stipules. The flowers are characteristic, irregular, with separate petals, typically 5 (4) sepals fused; the corolla consists of 5 petals: the upper petal is usually larger («flag» or «sail»), 2 lateral petals («wings») and 2 lower petals, often fused completely or partially («boat»); there are 10 stamens, usually 9 fused and 1 free, but sometimes all 10 are fused or free; the pistil is 1, with a superior, elongated ovary. The fruit is a pod, usually opening into two halves, though sometimes not opening or splitting into segments. Seeds are attached to the pod walls, and they do not have endosperm.
Many species in this family contain alkaloids. Numerous plants rich in tanning agents, various glycosides, flavonoids, and coumarins have been identified. Some species contain gum in the stems, such as the well-known tragacanth gum from Astragalus, which has technical uses.
All species of leguminous plants contain starch and significant amounts of protein, with some, like peanuts, containing oil. Some species also contain mucilage in their seeds and pods, and saponins. Tropical and subtropical species often produce resins and balsams in their stems.
The chemical composition of these plants is diverse, but botanical relationships are clearly noticeable. The extensive subfamily of leguminous plants is divided into 10 tribes. In the 1st and 2nd tribes, all 10 stamens are free, while in some genera of the 3rd tribe, all 10 stamens are fused only at the base; in others, they are entirely fused, or one stamen is free.
Species from the 1st and 2nd tribes (48 species) contain alkaloids. These belong to the lupinane or lupine alkaloid group, which contains quinolizidine rings in the core structure and forms numerous derivatives (cytisine, pachycarpine, thermopsin, etc.).
In the 4th and 5th tribes, plants are mainly alkaloid-free, except for derivatives of betaine like trigonelline (e.g., Trigonella); glycosides are predominant.
The 6th tribe is the most extensive (including the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis). In this tribe, various active substances are formed — some species contain alkaloids, while others are alkaloid-free or contain traces of alkaloids. However, even those with alkaloids do not belong to the lupine alkaloid group.
The 7th tribe is alkaloid-free or contains traces, and includes plants with cardiac glycosides (e.g., Vasel); the 8th tribe consists of fossil plants; the 9th and 10th tribes primarily consist of edible garden plants.
SOPHORA PACHYCARPA — SOPHORA PACHYCARPA C. A. MEY
A perennial herbaceous plant with a deep and powerful root system. The stems are branching, abundantly leafy. The leaves are imparipinnate (different from Thermopsis). The flowers are numerous, cream-colored, gathered into long, dense, spike-like inflorescences, with all 10 stamens free. The pods do not open, are brown, finely hairy, short, thick, club-shaped, with a faint constriction in the middle (the characteristic feature of the genus is non-opening pods, while the short pods are typical for this species). Usually, 1–2 seeds develop. The seeds are brown, with a rounded scar, and slightly shiny. It flowers from April to June and fruits in June to July. The plant is toxic. It grows in the deserts of Central Asia and as a weed.
It contains alkaloids of the lupinane group: in the herb, 2–3% (up to 6.4%), in seeds, 2.2%. The main alkaloid of the herb is pachycarpine (containing 2 quinolizidine rings). Hydriodide of pachycarpine is a ganglioblocking agent used in the treatment of peripheral vascular spasms and to enhance labor. It is available in tablets of 0.1 g, in ampoules of a 2–3% solution, and in powder form.
The seeds contain cytisine, sophocarpine, matrine, and others.
Sophora griffithii — a shrub growing in Central Asia; alkaloids found in the leaves include pachycarpine, cytidine, N-methylcytisine, and others.
A similar alkaloid composition has been found in poisonous Central Asian shrubs such as Ammothamus Lehmannii Bge. and Ammodendron conollyi Bge., which belong to the same tribe. Both species contain pachycarpine among their alkaloids.