Buckthorn

At a glance

Origin / distribution: Europe, Turkey, Spain

Cultural traditions: not documented

Recorded uses: Depurative, Laxative, Piles, Purgative

Science studied: ALOE-EMODIN, ANTHRAQUINONES, ANTHRONE-GLYCOSIDE, ARACHIDIC-ACID

Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗

Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.

Names and identity

Family: Rhamnaceae

Scientific name: Frangula alnus

Common names: Buckthorn, Alder Buckthorn, Almindelig tørst, Alno Nero, Arraclán, Barutağacı, Bourdaine, Bourdaine commune, Bourdaine, Bois noir, Frangule de Dodone, Bourdaine de Dodone, Bourdaine aulne, Bourgène, Bourgène, Brauwydd, Breaking Buckthorn, Breuwydd, Breuwydden, Cruşin, Crușin, Echter Faulbaum

History

The source record documents this plant in Europe, Turkey, Spain.

It records these historical or traditional applications:

• Depurative
• Laxative
• Piles
• Purgative
• Tonic
• Emmenagogue
• Poison
• Liver

This summary is limited to the cited source record.

Origins and distribution

• Europe
• Turkey
• Spain

Documented cultural uses

• Depurative
• Laxative
• Piles
• Purgative
• Tonic
• Emmenagogue
• Poison
• Liver

Contemporary uses

Contemporary practice is not documented separately in this record.

Scientific research

Indexed records indicate research activity; they do not establish efficacy or safety.

Indexed research records

• The genome sequence of Frangula alnus Mill., 1768 (Rosales: Rhamnaceae) · 2026 source ↗
• The genome sequence of <i>Frangula alnus</i> Mill., 1768 (Rosales: Rhamnaceae). · 2026 source ↗
• Comparative photosynthetic capacity of invasive glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus Mill.) and native red maple (Acer rubrum L.) in North American forests · 2026 source ↗

Scientific compounds

Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.

• ALOE-EMODIN
• ANTHRAQUINONES
• ANTHRONE-GLYCOSIDE
• ARACHIDIC-ACID
• ARMEPAVINE
• BETA-CAROTENE
• CHRYSOPHANOL
• DESOXYBARBALOIN
• EMODIN
• EMODIN-DIANTHRONE
• EMODIN-1-GLUCOSIDE
• EMODIN-8-GLUCOSIDE
• FRANGANINE
• FRANGUFOLINE
• FRANGULANINE-B
• FRANGULIN-A

Legality

Country-specific legal status is not documented in this record.

Consult the CITES species checklist for international trade protections and listings. This is not a complete statement of local law.

Reference images

Sources

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases · CC0

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0

CC0 · Dr. Duke raw CSV archive

Contributions and revisions

No published revisions are documented for this record. Community submissions enter review and retain attribution before any published change.