This winter in Melbourne Australia there has been a lot of chronic non productive coughing which has got to the point where nearly every family has it. Most people are relying on conventional medicine such as nasal sprays and antibiotics without success. However I have found that a tea made from white horehound relieved the symptoms in everyone that drinks even a small amount of the tea. Horehound has been found to be antiviral and antibacterial but does not suffer the nasty side affects of antibiotics. It would be interesting to know if any drugs have been extracted from white horehound as it appears to be as powerful as the pacific yew tree that makes paclitaxel.

The active agent from Horehound is believed to be Marrubiin

Marrubiin is related to the fragrant aromas in mint known as terpenoids, but is chemically distinct. Marrubiin is also related to taxol, found in the Western Yew tree, which is used to treat ovarian cancer. The leaves of Horehound have a fuzzy texture to them and below the forest of hairs on the leaf are clusters of cells that include a cylindrical layer where the compound is made. The marrubiin is produced and stored in these structures known as secretory glands.

Work is underway to isolate the gene responsible for the manufacture of marrubin so that it can be produced in large quantities and also to begin to modify its structure in hopes of developing taxol-like anti-cancer activity and improved antibiotics.

Scientific papers of Marrubiin include

1: Meyre-Silva C, Yunes RA, Schlemper V, Campos-Buzzi F, Cechinel-Filho V.
Analgesic potential of marrubiin derivatives, a bioactive diterpene present in
Marrubium vulgare (Lamiaceae).
Farmaco. 2005 Apr;60(4):321-6.
PMID: 15848207 [PubMed - in process]

2: El Bardai S, Morel N, Wibo M, Fabre N, Llabres G, Lyoussi B, Quetin-Leclercq
J.
The vasorelaxant activity of marrubenol and marrubiin from Marrubium vulgare.
Planta Med. 2003 Jan;69(1):75-7.
PMID: 12567286 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3: Takeda Y, Yanagihara K, Masuda T, Otsuka H, Honda G, Takaishi Y, Sezik E,
Yesilada E.
Labdane diterpenoids from Marrubium globosum ssp. globosum.
Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2000 Aug;48(8):1234-5.
PMID: 10959597 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4: De Jesus RA, Cechinel-Filho V, Oliveira AE, Schlemper V.
Analysis of the antinociceptive properties of marrubiin isolated from Marrubium
vulgare.
Phytomedicine. 2000 Apr;7(2):111-5.
PMID: 10839213 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5: Knoss W, Reuter B, Zapp J.
Biosynthesis of the labdane diterpene marrubiin in Marrubium vulgare via a
non-mevalonate pathway.
Biochem J. 1997 Sep 1;326 ( Pt 2):449-54.
PMID: 9291117 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6: Telek E, Toth L, Botz L, Mathe I.
[Chemical tests with Marrubium species. Official data on Marubii herba in
Pharmacopoeia Hungarica VII]
Acta Pharm Hung. 1997 Jan;67(1):31-7. Hungarian.
PMID: 9163258 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

7: Badiello R, Breccia A.
The role of general metabolites in the biosynthesis of natural products. IV.
Incorporation of U-14C ribose and U-14C fructose in marrubiin terpene.
Z Naturforsch B. 1967 Jun;22(6):680-1. No abstract available.
PMID: 4384502 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

8: Breccia A, Badiello R.
The role of general metabolites in the biosynthesis of natural products. I. The
terpene marrubiin.
Z Naturforsch B. 1967 Jan;22(1):44-9. No abstract available.
PMID: 4384825 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9: Fulke JW, McCrindle R.
Stereochemistry of marrubiin.
Chem Ind. 1965 Apr 10;15:647-8. No abstract available.
PMID: 5890064 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10: Moody DP.
Some preliminary work on the synthesis of marrubiin.
Chem Ind. 1965 Jan 9;2:85. No abstract available.
PMID: 5889857 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]