The seeds and roots of Heliotropium lasocarpium, contain a pyrrolizidine alkaloid which causes toxic liver injury and veno-occlusive disease (VOD), characterised by an occlusive lesion of the centrolobular veins of the liver, when consumed by humans. The Farkhar region of Southern Tadjikistan, was
Indicine N-oxide is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid isolated from Heliotropium indicum, one of the widely used herbs in Ayurvedic medicine. Thirty-seven patients with solid tumors received the drug: 15 men and 22 women (mean age, 53 years). All had had prior chemotherapy, and 25 had had prior radiotherapy.