PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Partes aéreas.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Antifebril.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: From Solanum crispum (Natri) has been isolated a new alkaloid, C23H38NO, termed natrine (I). The branches of S. crispum were cut in small pieces, dried in an air stream at 35-40degrees, ground in a cutter, pulverized in a hammer mill, the powd. material (2 kg.) intimately mixed with 480 g. CaO, 240 g. 30% NaOH, and 4.8 l. H2O, the resulting semisolid mass let stand 24 hrs., and heated in 2 batches with a total of 6 1. EtOH on the water bath. The treatment was repeated twice, the combined filtered alc. exts. concd. in vacuo, the black concentrate extd. twice with peroxide-free Et2O, the Et2O soln. extd. with 7.5% H2SO4, the acid ext. treated twice with excess concd. NH4OH, the pptd. crude amorphous solid immediately extd. with peroxide-free Et2O, the ext. dried 12 hrs. with Na2SO4, concd. to a small vol., passed with slight suction through a column (4 x 50 mm.) of Al2O3, the column eluted with peroxide-free Et2O, and the eluate evapd. in air, giving cryst. I, m. 170-1degrees; the column eluted with Et2O until no more cryst. product was obtained, and then eluted with MeOH, gave a yellow oily fraction which could not be recrystd. The crude I recrystd. from dry Me2CO gave pure cryst. I, m. 172-3degrees, easily sol. in hot, sparingly sol. in cold, MeOH, easily sol. in EtOH and CHCl3, optically inactive. A soln. of the colorless I exposed several days to light turned yellow and then orange; such a discolored soln. yielded on evapn. only a yellow oil similar to that obtained from the MeOH eluates of the Al2O3 column. This oil seems to be a conversion product of I formed by the action of light or air or both. Dry HCl passed into I in dry Et2O, the Et2O decanted, the pptd. brown oil let stand several days, and the resulting cryst. solid recrystd. from MeOH or EtOH gave I.HCl, m. 288-9degrees. An almost satd. soln. of I in CHCl3 treated dropwise with Br in CHCl3 until a brown color persisted and the mixt. concd. to 0.5 its vol. deposited a Br deriv. of I, prismatic needles, m. 275-8degrees. MeI in CHCl3 added dropwise to I in CHCl3 and the solvent and the excess MeI evapd. in vacuo gave I.MeI, platelets, m. 272-4degrees (from MeOH). The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of I (exhibiting a max. at 238 mu) is recorded.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Chile y Argentina. 

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Uso tradicional:
fiebre; dolor de cabeza; diabetes mellitus no insulino requirente.
La infusión se prepara con 1 cucharada del vegetal para 1 litro de agua recién hervida: beber 1 taza 3 veces en el día.
En caso de fiebre alta usar decocción (cocimiento) como enema (lavado intestinal): hervir 1 cucharada del vegetal en 1 litro de agua durante 10 minutos, entibiar y aplicar.

Efecto: febrífugo, hipoglicemiante.

Precauciones:contraindicado en personas con presión arterial baja.

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, p.126.

2) BIANCHI, Ennio; ALBERTZ, Alfredo; CASTILLO, Raúl. Natrine, the alkaloid of Solanum crispum. (Natri). Annali di Chimica (Rome, Italy). 1953, vol.43, p.208-212.

3) Hierbas medicinales/ Chile. Ministerio de Agricultura.  p.64