Witnessed by: Western · Unani

Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), of the Colchicaceae (formerly Liliaceae) family. Cormous perennial; leafless crocus-like lilac flowers in autumn, broad leaves and a three-celled capsule in spring; native range: damp meadows and woodland of Britain, Europe and North Africa across to the Near East. Globally recognized as suranjan (سورنجان); suranjan-e-talkh (bitter) / suranjan-e-shirin (sweet) in Arabic, and meadow saffron, naked ladies, upstart, colchicum in English. The part used is corm (bulb) and ripe seed. The fresh corm is starchy, milk-white within a dark coat, at first sweetish then intensely bitter and acrid, leaving a persistent burning in the throat; the small brown seeds are hard and likewise bitter.

In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.

AUTUMN CROCUS

IDENTITY

Name

Common: Autumn crocus
Scientific name: Colchicum autumnale L.
Family: Colchicaceae (formerly Liliaceae)

Form

Part used: corm (bulb) and ripe seed

PROPERTIES

Nature

Taste

how the plant declares itself on the tongue

Western: bitter, acrid
Unani: bitter

Temperature

Western: hot
Unani: hot & dry (2nd–3rd degree)

Affinity

where in the body it travels

Organs / channels

Western: joints · blood · kidneys · liver
Unani: joints · stomach · liver

PRACTICE

Virtue

Actions

Western: antigout specific (colchicine), anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic, uricosuric, cathartic, diuretic; in large dose a violent gastrointestinal irritant
Unani: muhallil (resolvent of cold swellings) · musakkin (analgesic of joint pain), mus-hil (purgative), dafe-e-waja-ul-mafasil (relieves joint disease), dissolves and voids the cold, viscid matter lodged in the joints

Cautions

Contraindications: pregnancy and lactation (a known teratogen and abortifacient), the debilitated and elderly, renal or hepatic impairment (drug accumulates and toxicity soars), pre-existing blood dyscrasia, and any gastrointestinal or cardiac weakness; never to be self-dosed

Toxicity: One of the most dangerous of medicinal plants — narrow therapeutic margin, no effective antidote. Colchicine poisoning (from as little as a few milligrams, and reliably lethal above roughly 0.8 mg/kg) begins after a latent 2–12 hours with burning of mouth and throat, then severe nausea, vomiting, profuse bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain, dehydration and shock; a second phase brings multi-organ failure — bone-marrow suppression, arrhythmia and cardiovascular collapse, hepatic and renal failure, ascending paralysis and respiratory arrest. Deaths have followed mistaking the spring leaves for wild garlic. Treatment is only supportive.

Interactions

Western: CYP450-metabolised drugs: colchicine is a CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein substrate; strong 3A4 inhibitors (clarithromycin, ketoconazole, ritonavir, grapefruit) raise its levels sharply and have caused fatal toxicity · immunosuppressants: ciclosporin (and other P-gp inhibitors) blocks colchicine efflux, causing accumulation, myotoxicity and marrow suppression · hepatotoxic drugs: additive hepatic and bone-marrow toxicity; danger compounded in hepatic impairment where colchicine already accumulates

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