The RUE plant featured this week is to mark the 10 days of repentance in the Jewish calendar that started last week with New Year and culminates on Monday with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. While the ram’s horn (shofar) in the picture is a familiar symbol for this period, the flower is not; I picked it for its name. (For those readers who don’t get it, to RUE in English means to regret, repent or atone.)
Ruta graveolens (common rue) is a member of the Rutaceae, the same botanical family as citrus. It is native to the Balkans but widely cultivated around the world for decorative and culinary purposes. The “graveolens” in the botanical name is for the strong-smelling volatiles given off by the leaves, that repel cats and many insects.
The Wikipedia article cited below mentions many uses of rue since classical times, including as herbal medicine (e.g. snakebite antidote, to induce abortion), a fragrance (e.g. as room freshener, in amulets to stave off plague) and as flavouring in foods and beverage. The bitter contents might cause some to “rue” (regret) tasting it, explaining the name.
Ruta is rich in phytochemicals, a major one being rutin, a glycoside of the flavonol quercitin (Mokhtar et al, 2022). This and other phytochemicals provide antioxidative,anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Extracts The of rue are suggested to contain neuroactive compounds od therapeutic potential (Colucci-D'Amato& Cimaglia 2020).
When applied on the skin, however, Ruta extracts may be problematic (Machado et al, 2015), owing to presence of furocoumarins such as methoxypsoralen and chalepensin that photosensitise the generation of reactiveoxygen species, as described previously in Leaf 4 (https://lnkd.in/eQviUXQc).
The resulting skin condition is called phytophotodermatitis, RUEFUL INDEED!
Further reading
▶ Wikipedia(2023). Ruta graveolens. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruta_graveolens&oldid=1167868546
▶ Mokhtar M et al (2022). Phenolic Content and in Vitro Antioxidant, Anti‐Inflammatory and antimicrobial Evaluation of Algerian Ruta graveolens L. Chemistry& Biodiversity, 19(9), e202200545 https://doi.org/10.1002/cbdv.202200545.
▶ Colucci-D'Amato, L., & Cimaglia, G. (2020). Ruta graveolens as a potential source of neuroactive compounds to promote and restore neuralfunctions. Journal of traditional and complementary medicine, 10(3),309–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2020.05.002
▶ Machado M et al(2015). Phytophotodermatitis: a diagnosis to consider. BMJ case reports, 2015,bcr2015213388. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2015-213388
