Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Habitat and Distribution — The plant occurs mainly in the rainforest areas, usually in damp
places under forest cover. It is distributed from Sierra Leone to Cameroon.
Ethnomedicinal Uses — The stem bark is valued as an aphrodisiac and general tonic. The
root, when chewed, imparts a sweet taste to food eaten afterward. It is used as a chewing stick and
medicine for constipation. A cough drug is prepared from the fruits together with the fruits of Piper
guineense and lime juice. The fruits are edible and are used as an antifatigue snack. The plant is
reputed to be a wound-healing agent; for this purpose, the wound is washed with a decoction of the
leafy twigs and dressed with powdered bark.
Constituents — The plant yields several isoquinoline alkaloids, including palmitine and
columbamine. The plant, like other members of the family Menispermaceae, also contains bitter-
tasting diterpenes.
Pharmacological Studies — The crude extracts and an isolated constituent showed anti-
inflammatory activity when evaluated with carrageenan-induced hind paw edema of healthy adult
albino rats and utilizing the oral route of administration. The fruit methanol extract (79.58% inhibi-
tion at 200 mg kg −1 ) gave higher anti-inflammatory activity than the root extract (53.75% inhibition
at 200 mg ml −1 ). Further purification of the most active methanol fruit extract (MFE) led to the
isolation of three furanoditerpenes, identified as columbin, isocolumbin, and fibleucin, as well as a
flavonoid-rich fraction (FDE). Both columbin (67.08% inhibition at 20 mg kg −1 , p < 0.05) and FDE
(76.25% inhibition at 200 mg kg −1 , p < 0.05) gave significant anti-inflammatory activities in a com-
parable range with reference ASA (72.50% inhibition at 100 mg kg −1 ). 981 The extracts of the fruits
and seeds of Sphenocentrum jollyanum , when tested in vitro , showed potent anthelmintic activity
on the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae and wireworms. 982
SPIGELIA ANTHELMIA
Botanical Names — Spigelia anthelmia L.
Synonyms — Spigelia domingensis Gand., Spigelia fruticulosa Lam., Spigelia multispica var.
discolor Progel, Spigelia nervosa Steud., Spigelia quadrifolia Stokes, Spigelia stipularis Progel
Family — Loganiaceae
Common Names — Worm grass, worm seed, Indian pink, pinkroot
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