Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
rate and rhythm abnormalities, dyspnea, and death. Myocardial degeneration and necrosis with
hemorrhages of the heart and alimentary tract have been observed.
340
The median lethal doses for
the Australian species,
B. tubiflorum,
flowers, roots, and leaf plus stem were found to be 0.7, 2.3,
and 5.0 g dry matter/kg liver weight, respectively (7, 7, and 40 g wet weight/kg, respectively).
215
A treatment regime consisting of the administration of activated carbon, electrolyte replacement
solution, and antiarrhythmic drugs has been used to abort the lethality of bryotoxin intoxication
in farm animals.
216
BULBINE FRUTESCENS
Botanical Name —
Bulbine frutescens
( L.) Wil ld.
Synonyms —
Anthericum frutescens
L.,
Anthericum incurvum
Thunb.,
Anthericum multiceps
Poelln.,
Anthericum rostratum
Jacq.,
Bulbine caulescens
L.,
Bulbine incurva
(Thunb.) Spreng.,
Phalangium frutescens
(L.) Kuntze,
Phalangium rostratum
(Jacq.) Kuntze
Related Species —
Bulbine asphodeloides
,
B. abyssinica, B. natalensis
Family —
Xanthorrhoeaceae (formerly Asphodelaceae)
Common Names —
Bulbine, bulbinella, burn jelly plant, cat's tail, snake flower
African Names —
Afrikaans: geelkatstert, wildekopieva; Zulu: ibhucu; Xhosa: intelezi;
Sotho: moetsa-mollo
Description —
According to the
African Herbal Pharmacopeia
,
1141
Bulbine frutescens
is a
perennial herb up to 0.5 m high but occasionally growing up to 1.2 m. It has woody stems that bear
succulent leaves. The leaves are linear, cerete or somewhat flattened, 30-250 mm long, 4-10 mm in
diameter, bright green or yellowish green, and glaucous glabrous. Flowers are small, mostly yellow,
sometimes partly orange, in multiflowered racemes on sender peduncles; the pedicel is thin, usu-
ally curved, petals are six, yellow, sometimes orange, erect to recurved, and somewhat persistent.
Stamens are six; filaments are densely hairy. Fruit occurs as a small capsule. The plant can be dis-
tinguished from related members of the genus by its woody stem and details of the floral bracts.
1141
Habitat and Distribution —
Bulbine frutescens
is widespread throughout Southern Africa.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
In most parts of South Africa and Lesotho, fresh leaf sap of
Bulbine
frutescens
is used externally for the treatment of skin infections, especially ringworm and eczema.
The sap is applied to wounds as a disinfectant and to promote healing. In Lesotho, crushed leaves
are used as a dressing for burns, and leaf sap is applied to cracked lips. It has also been reported
as used for the treatment of scrofula, a form of tuberculosis that affects the lymph nodes. The root
decoction is used for the treatment of diabetes, venereal diseases, rheumatism, convulsion, and diar-
rhea. The related species
B. abyssinica
is used as a tea for the treatment of gynecological disorders.
Constituents —
The gel of
B. frutescens
yields a complex mixture of polysaccharides. The
plant is also known to have knipholone-type compounds. The roots contain phenylanthraquinones,
gaboroquinones A and B, and 4′-O-demethylknipholone-4′-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside.
341
Also iso-
lated from the roots are sulfated phenylanthraquinones co-occurring with their known sulfate-free
analogs. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chiroptical methods, by acid hydro-
lysis, or by partial synthesis.
342
Pharmacological Studies —
The
in vivo
wound-healing property of
Bulbine
species has been
confirmed by many investigators, thereby validating the traditional use of the leaf gel extracts of
B.
frutescens
and related species in the treatment of wounds. In animal studies, the wound contrac-
tion following treatment with
Bulbine natalensis
on days 2, 4, and 10 (
p
= 0.004, 0.007, and 0.03,
respectively) and
Bulbine frutescens
on day 4 (
p
= 0.004) increased significantly when compared to
the corresponding untreated wounds. The tensile strength of the wounds treated with the leaf gels
was significantly stronger than that of the untreated wounds. There was also a significant increase in
the collagen, protein, and DNA content of the
Bulbine natalensis
- and
Bulbine frutescens
-treated
