Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Habitat and Distribution —
It is a very common weed found in both cultivated and undis-
turbed land and is distributed in most parts of the continent.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
An infusion of the plant is used as an anthelmintic for children to
expel roundworms and in high doses as an emetic. The crushed plant is applied locally on swellings,
bruises, and whitlow to ease pains and cause healing.
77
The pressed juice is instilled in the ears for
earache and also applied with cotton lint to carious teeth. The leaf infusion has been reported as a
cooling drink, with a mild diuretic effect, and is used as a vegetable for its antiscorbutic properties.
The seeds are demulcent, diuretic, and slightly astringent.
136
The plant has been attributed with
insecticidal properties.
136
Constituents —
Oxalates and noradrenalin have been isolated from the plant.
876
The plant also
contains saponins.
Pharmacological Studies —
The extract has been shown to possess antidiabetic
877
and mus-
cle relaxant
878
activities. The muscle relaxant effects have been found to be similar to the activity
of D-600 and dantrolene when tested against rat hemidiaphragm and frog rectus abdominus, and
the mechanism of action has been suggested as probably due to inhibition of transmembrane Ca
2+
influx, interference with the Ca-induced and Ca
+
release process, or inhibition of the release of
intracellular Ca
+
from stores in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
879
Extract of the plant has also produced
dose-dependent negative inotropic and chronotropic effects and a pressor response in the rat.
880
It
has been argued that the extract may act in part on postsynaptic α-adrenoceptors and by interfer-
ence with transmembrane calcium influx.881
881
A related species,
P. grandifolia
, has been shown to possess significant anti-HBsAg as deter-
mined using the ELISA technique.
881
The water extract of the same species has been found to be
antimutagenic.
882
PRUNUS AFRICANA
Botanical Name —
Prunus africana
(Hook. f.) Kalkman
