Galega officinalis

Galega officinalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Galega
Species:
G. officinalis
Binomial name
Galega officinalis
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Accorombona tricolor (Hook.) Benth. ex Walp. (1842)
    • Callotropis tricolor (Hook.) G.Don (1832)
    • Galega alba Schult. (1809)
    • Galega bicolor Boiss. & Hausskn. (1868)
    • Galega biloba Sweet (1826)
    • Galega coronilloides Freyn & Sint. (1893)
    • Galega officinalis var. albiflora Halácsy (1900)
    • Galega patula Steven (1856)
    • Galega persica Pers. (1807)
    • Galega tricolor Hook. (1825)
    • Galega vulgaris Lam. (1779)
    • Tephrosia tricolor (Hook.) Sweet (1830)
Seeds

Galega officinalis, commonly known as galega[2] or goat's-rue,[3] is a herbaceous plant in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family Fabaceae.[4] It is native to parts of northern Africa, western Asia and Europe, but is widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere.[4][2] The plant has been extensively cultivated as a forage crop, an ornamental, a bee plant, and as green manure.[4][5]

G. officinalis is rich in galegine, a substance with blood glucose-lowering activity and the foundation for the discovery of metformin,[6] a treatment for managing symptoms of diabetes mellitus.[7] In ancient herbalism, goat's-rue was used as a diuretic.[8] It can be poisonous to mammals, but is a food for various insects.[4]

  1. ^ "Galega officinalis L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Galega officinalis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ a b c d "Galega officinalis (goatsrue)". Invasive Species Compendium, CAB International. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  5. ^ Lasseigne, Alex (2003-11-03). "Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States: Galega sp". US Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2017-12-23.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Shenfield, G (April 2013). "Metformin: Myths, misunderstandings and lessons from history". Australian Prescriber. 36 (2): 38–39. doi:10.18773/austprescr.2013.017.
  7. ^ Bailey CJ, Day C (2004). "Metformin: its botanical background". Practical Diabetes International. 21 (3): 115–117. doi:10.1002/pdi.606. S2CID 208203689.
  8. ^ "Goat's rue". Drugs.com. 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2017.