Wild
Indigo (Baptisia
tinctoria or Sophora tinctoria)
Key
Constituents and Pharmacololgy
Wild indigo contains baptitoxine, a substance identical to cytisine and similar to nicotine.2 as well as other quinlizidine alkaloids: N-methyl cytisine, anagyrine, sparteine isoflavonoids, formononetin.5 Baptitoxine has a stronger respiratory and weaker musculoskeletal stimulating effect and than nicotine.2 Other compounds in Baptisia include glycoproteins (baptisin and baptin), polysaccharides (arabinogalactans), coumarins (scopoletine), and isoflavones (genistein, biochanin A).2,5
German scientists, mostly those affiliated with Schaper & Brummer GmbH & Co KG, have conducted extensive investigation into the medicinal properties of Baptisia as a component of their immunoenhancer phytocombination product, Esberitox® which also contains Echinacea pallida root, Echinacea purpurea root, and Thujae occidentalis branch tips.6 Although the original articles are in the German language, Dr. Wuestenberg et al. published a review of their studies in English in 1999.7 In this article, the researchers list the following activities for Baptisia: increases number of granulocytes, increases granulocyte phagocytosis, stimulates macrophages and lymphocytes, stimulates B-lymphocytes, increases interleukin-1, increases interferon-a and interferon-b, and increases IgM antibody.7
In another study, mice who consumed the herbal combination product exhibited an increase in their antibody response to sheep red blood cells without an increase in their white blood cell count or spleen weight.8 Mice with lowered immunity due to age or hydrocortisone therapy showed a normalization of their immune response when exposed to sheep red blood cells after ingesting Echinacea, Thuja, and Baptisia.9 In the most recent study, the researchers removed Peyer’s patch cells from mice that had ingested the herbal combination and a control population and exposed them to sheep red blood cells. The Peyer’s patch cells from the treated mice showed a greater plaque-forming cell response.10 Mice treated with the herbal product also showed an improved resistance to influenza virus compared with controls.11