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MENISPERMACEAE(Moonseed family)
• Medicinal / Folk-medicinal aspects: Many species have found use in traditional medicine for a wide variety of afflictions including those involving the skin. These include abscesses, boils, eczema, bruises, scorpion stings and snake bites, pediculosis, fungal infections, pruritus, and for wound healing. Some have also been used in preparations for sore eyes. • Mabberley (2017) noted that the family comprises 450 species of mainly lianes and scandent shrubs in 72 genera. More recently, Plants of the World Online has listed 80 accepted genera.a Chondrodendron tomentosum Ruiz & Pav. contains the active curare principle D-tubocurarine, a toxic benzylisoquinoline alkaloid that has found use in surgery as a neuromuscular blocking agent (Reynolds 1996). This and many other members of the family, including Sciadotenia toxifera Krukoff & A.C.Sm., contain toxic alkaloids and other classes of toxins that have found use as dart and arrow poisons and as fish poisons (Ayala Flores 1984, Bisset 1988).
An external application of the dried ripe fruit / seed in the form of a powder or an ointment (Unguentum Cocculi) has been used to destroy pediculi. It has also been used in some obstinate skin diseases, as porrigo [= historically, a skin condition of the scalp marked by eruption or pustules], but its use requires caution, especially where the skin is not entire, on account of the danger of absorption (Pereira 1842). Waring (1883), and later Nadkarni (1976) who referred to Cocculus suberosus, both noted that in India, the seeds, beaten into a paste then incorporated into lard, kokum butter or ghee, have been used to destroy pediculi. They similarly cautioned that care has to be taken to avoid abraded or ulcerated skin on account of the danger of absorption of the poisonous principle. Interestingly, Nadkarni (1976) also described the juice of the fresh fruit as a good application to scabies and for ulcers [of unspecfied aetiology]. An extensive catalogue of adverse drug reactions associated with the therapeutic [internal and/or external] use of a tincture prepared from the seeds can be found in the historical literature. Many reports of dermatologic adverse effects described itching; but also a case of an eruption of red irregular spots on the skin, as if coloured by red wine, over the whole chest and behind the ears without heat and without sensation; a case where an eruption resembling scarlatina; and an eruption of red miliary pimples (see Allen 1862). Piffard (1881), who cited Allen as the source of his information, noted that following an application of a preparation of the plant to the scalp, the body and arms became covered with a scarlet eruption. But Allen had in fact cited a case reported by Thompson (1852) where an Infusion of Cocculus Indicus had been applied to the scalp of two young girls (6- and 4-year old sisters) to treat "porrigo of the scalp, infected with vermin". Both experienced tetanic spasms. "[A] warm bath was ordered, into which [they were] placed as soon as the first spasm was over; a mustard plaster was applied over the abdomen and to the legs and feet as high as the knee; injections of the tincture of assafetida were thrown into the rectum and a few drops administered by the mouth every hour." On the morning of the day after the treatment "the patient’s body and arms were […] covered with an eruption resembling scarlatina, which gradually faded away during the day." The 6-year old died despite receiving the same treatment as the 4-year old. So, it is not clear that the scarlatiniform eruption was caused directly by the topical application of the Infusion of Cocculus Indicus. The seeds contain the highly toxic picrotoxin, also known as cocculin, which is actually an equimolecular mixture of two sesquiterpenoids, namely picrotin and picrotoxinin, only the latter being pharmacologically active (Ramwell 1963). It was formerly used as a CNS stimulant in the treatment of barbiturate poisoning (Todd 1967).
Perry & Metzger (1980) noted that in the traditional medicine of the Philippines, a decoction of the wood is used as a wash to cleanse wounds, tropical ulcers, and to cure any kind of itching. Oyen (2008) noted that the sap from the wood is irritant to the skin but provided no further information.
Ainslie (1937) noted that in the traditional medicine of Nigeria, the dried root decoction is applied externally to cuts and ulcers, snake bites, and stings; a paste made from the leaves is applied to syphilitic sores; and the leaves are used as a poultice for abscess. In a review of the medicinal uses and pharmacological properties of this species, which is widely used in tropical African traditional medicine for a wide variety of afflictions, Maroyi (2020) noted that the leaves are used for skin diseases (chicken pox and measles), ulcers, and for sore eyes; and the roots are used for snakebite and wounds; and the leaves and roots are used for haemorrhoids and for swellings.
In a review of the medicinal uses and pharmacological properties of this species, which is widely used in tropical African traditional medicine for a variety of afflictions, Maroyi (2021) noted that the rhizomes, roots, and whole plant are used for scorpion sting and snakebite; the leaves, rhizomes, roots, and whole plant are used for skin diseases (abscesses and scabies); the sap is used for swellings; the leaves and rhizomes are used for ulcers; the bark, leaves, rhizomes, roots, and stems are used for [unspecified] venereal diseases; and the leaves and stems are used in the treatment of wounds. The use of the leaves and rhizomes in the treatment of wounds in ethnoveterinary medicine is also mentioned. According to Nadkarni (1976), the root is applied externally in snake bites and scorpion sting; and the leaves and roots made into a paste with some bland oil are used locally in cases of unhealthy sores, sinuses, and itches. Perry & Metzger (1980) noted that in Burma [now, Myanmar], a paste made from the plant is applied locally to treat inflammatory conditions of the eye; and in the Philippines, the pounded leaves are considered to be antiscabious and are also applied to snake bites.
In a treatise on the medicinal plants of India, Nadkarni (1976) noted that the juice of the leaves from Cocculus villosus coagulates in water and forms a mucilage that is used externally as a cooling and soothing application in prurigo, eczema, impetigo, etc. In the traditional medicine of the Malay Peninsula, the roots are utilised to poultice boils and sores, and with the stem are made into a lotion to rub on skin affected by prickly heat (Perry & Metzger 1980).
In traditional Indian medicine, a paste of it [the root ?] is applied to bruises and contusions, and a tincture or infusion [of the stem ?] is used [externally ?] in ulcers and in snake-bites (Nadkarni 1976). The stems of this climbing woody vine, sliced and dried, provide the traditional Chinese medicine known as huang teng (黄藤), Caulis Fibraurea, or Common Fibraurea Stem. Amongst its numerous internal and external applications, an aqueous decoction has been used to treat sores and carbuncles, blisters, and red eyes, and to wash gunshot wounds and burns to prevent inflammation and suppuration.a,b Rao et al. (2009) further noted that in the south of Yunnan Province of China, the plant has been commonly used for the treatment of [unspecified] skin diseases, skin ulcers, and fungal infections characterised by itching. The plant yields isoquinoline / protoberberine / tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids, including palmatine, jatrorrhizine, columbamine, and berberine together with minor quantities of aporphine alkaloids and furanoditerpenoids (Barbosa-Filho et al. 2000, Zhang et al. 2008, Rao et al. 2009). Fibraurea Recisa Root Extract [INCI; of uncertain composition (see Schmidt 2017)], is a recognised cosmetic product ingredient purported to have skin conditioning properties (Standing Committee on Cosmetic Products 2019, CosIng 2023/4). A Sumatran orangutan [Pongo abelii Lesson, 1827 (fam. Hominidae)] was observed to chew the leaves of this plant, which is known locally in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan as akar kuning, and apply the masticated plant material to a wound on the face, seemingly to good effect as an aid to the healing of the wound (Laumer et al. 2024). Perry & Metzger (1980) noted that in Indonesia, an infusion of the stem of Fibraurea chloroleuca is utilised as an eye wash. Perry & Metzger (1980) noted that in the traditional medicine of the Malay Peninsula, an extract of the root is applied to sore eyes.
The root of this plant like that of sarsaparilla (Smilax spp., fam. Smilacaceae) has been used in folk medicine for skin diseases (Wren 1975). The rough sharp ridges of the fruit pips can cause mechanical injury (Der Marderosian 1966). The root shavings from this tropical West African plant, when put on wounds, produce a burning sensation; and the bark is prepared [in an unspecified way] as a dressing for abscesses and as an enema for [unspecified] venereal diseases (Irvine 1961). Water added to then squeezed out of crushed leaves, after standing for a day, gives a gelatinous mass which, in Indonesian traditional medicine, is applied to the head two or three times a day as a remedy for falling hair (Perry & Metzger 1980). Perry & Metzger (1980) noted that in the traditional medicine of the Philippines, the powdered root is taken as a tonic; it is an effective vulnerary and a remedy for snake bites. No further detail was provided. The plant is held by medicine-men of the Ivory Coast to have unusual haemostatic and healing properties. Sores are washed with a decoction (Dalziel 1937). The effects of aqueous extracts of the plant on the mechanism of wound healing in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats have been described (Adeleke et al. 2021, 2022, 2023). Akinwumi & Sonibare (2022) have reviewed the ethnomedicinal, pharmacological, and phytochemical literature. A volatile oil as well as clerodane type diterpenoids and ecdysteroids have been isolated and characterised. The roots are acid in the mouth but cause things eaten thereafter to taste sweet (Dalziel 1937, Menninger 1967). This property is also noted with Synsepalum dulcificum Daniell (fam. Sapotaceae) and Thaumatococcus daniellii Benth. (fam. Marantaceae). The genus Sphenocentrum is monotypic. it is found in tropical West Africa. The leaves crushed in water give a jelly-like mass which, in Indonesian traditional medicine, is applied to [unspecified] affections of the breast (Perry & Metzger 1980).
In the traditional medicine of the Malay Peninsula, a poultice of the boiled roots of Tinomiscium philippinense may be applied to treat rheumatism; and in the Philippines, the milky sap is a component of an eye wash (Perry & Metzger 1980).
Purandare & Supe (2007) reported that diabetic patients with foot ulcers who had been administered a "purified and biostandardized" aqueous extract prepared from this creeper as an adjuvant to normal therapy showed significantly better final outcomes with improvement in wound healing than patients to whom a placebo had been administered. However, no experimental detail whatsoever was provided that would enable the study to be replicated.
In the traditional medicine of the Philippines, the crushed stem of Tinospora rumphii is used externally as a remedy for tropical ulcers, and a decoction may also be used to wash tropical ulcers, itches, and wounds. Also, the crushed stem mixed with coconut oil is used as a poultice in rheumatism or in tympanism of children (Cantoria 1976). In the traditional medicine of the Malay Peninsula, a decoction [of the stem ?] of Tinospora crispa serves as a wash for sore eyes and syphilitic sores; and the leaves are made into poultices applied to wounds and itch (Perry & Metzger 1980).
Referring to Cocculus cordifolius Miers [sic], a climbing shrub known locally as gulancha and by many other names, Nadkarni (1976) describes numerous uses of preparations of the plant (stems, leaves, and roots) in Ayurvedic medicine, including the [oral ?] use of an extract for skin diseases described as "patches and small boils on the surface of the skin generally in the extremities often painful and persistent". He further noted that several oils for external application are prepared from gulancha and are much used in skin diseases. There may be confusion with Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook.f. & Thomson [see above], which also is known locally as gulancha (and by many other names) and for which Nadkarni (1976) provided the alternative names Menispermum cordifolium and Cocculus cordifolia [sic]. The Indian Flora Onlinea,b identifies Tinospora cordifolia as being more widely distributed in India than Tinospora glabra, and as the taxon that is cultivated for its medicinal value. In the traditional medicine of the Philippines, the macerated leaves and stems of Tinospora reticulata are used as a dressing for open wounds (Perry & Metzger 1980). In the traditional medicine of the Philippines, the cut stem of Tinospora negrotica, boiled in coconut oil, is rubbed on swollen joints affected by rheumatism (Perry & Metzger 1980).
In the traditional medicine of Indo-China, a poultice of the green leaves and rice alcohol is applied to the affected region in the treatment of rheumatism (Perry & Metzger 1980). Saki et al. (2023) noted that the stems, leaves, and roots of this woody, creeping vine have been used as traditional medicines by Australian First Nations peoples to treat inflammatory disorders such as swelling, wound infection, and snake bite, and to cover boils. They found that an aqueous extract of Tinospora smilacina in a nanoemulsion formulation with cold-pressed seed oil from Calophyllum inophyllum L. (Calophyllaceae) enhanced the activity of the seed oil in a scratch-wound assay. References
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