Importance of Colchicum species in modern therapy and its significance in Turkey

Abstract

Colchicum species, which are widely used as medication for many  years, still remain important in treatment. Some of them are cultivated to be used  for pharmaceutical industry. Tropolone alkaloids content of the species help in  the treatment of FMF, gout, amyloidosis, cirrhosis, Behcet’s disease, psoriasis,  Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloid leukemia and skin cancers. An economic and efficient  synthesis method of Colchicum alkaloids haven’t found yet, that’s why colchicine  and other alkaloids are obtained from plant source by extraction. The wide variety  of Colchicum species in Turkey lead the researchers to investigate new sources of  Colchicum rich in tropolone alkaloids. In our department, Colchicum species have  been studied for more than 45 years and the contents and biological activities of  the Colchicum species growing in our country are continuing to be studied today.  This review was performed to summarize the investigations on Colchicum species  in the world and to emphasize its importance in Turkey.