Spigelia anthelmia
| Spigelia anthelmia | |
|---|---|
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| In Brazil | |
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| Botanical illustration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Loganiaceae |
| Genus: | Spigelia |
| Species: | S. anthelmia |
| Binomial name | |
| Spigelia anthelmia | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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List
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Spigelia anthelmia, the West Indian pinkroot, wormbush, or wormgrass, is a species of flowering plant in the family Loganiaceae.[2] It is native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Florida, and northern South America through to Bolivia and Brazil, and it has been widely introduced to other tropical locales, including western and west-central Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Hainan, and the Bismarck Archipelago.[1] Highly poisonous, it is used as a vermifuge against intestinal worms.[2][3][4][5]
It spreads its seeds through explosive dehiscence. The seeds are usually thrown more than 1 meter away.
Toxicity
Spigelia anthelmia contains spiganthine, actinidine, isoquinoline, cholines, flavonoids, tertiary alkaloids (like strychnine) and quaternary alkaloids (like ryanodine). [5] Symptoms of ingesting Spigelia anthelmia can include dim vision, face and eye muscle spasms, lightheadedness, and convulsions. It can be fatal to children. [4]
Due to its toxicity, it is traditionally used as a vermifuge against intestinal worms.[3][4][5][2] Experiments show that Spigelia anthelmia has been found to decrease the number of worms with increasing dose in trials of rats against Nippostronglylus brasiliensis[3].
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Inflorescence.jpg)
Close-up of flower
Unripe fruit.jpg)
An individual with narrower leaves
References
- 1 2 "Spigelia anthelmia L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- 1 2 3 "Wormbush". Flowers of India. 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- 1 2 3 Jegede, Olorunfemi Cornelius; Ajanusi, Joseph Ologunja; Adaudi, Ambrose O.; Agbede, Rowland I. S. (September 2006). "Anthelmintic efficacy of extracts of Spigelia anthelmia Linn on experimental Nippostrongylus braziliensis in rats". Journal of Veterinary Science. 7 (3): 229–232. doi:10.4142/jvs.2006.7.3.229. ISSN 1229-845X. PMC 3242121. PMID 16871016.
- 1 2 3 "Spigelia anthelmia - Useful Tropical Plants". tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- 1 2 3 Camurça-Vasconcelos, A.L.F.; Nascimento, N.R.F.; Sousa, C.M.; Melo, L.M.; Morais, S.M.; Bevilaqua, C.M.L.; Rocha, M.F.G. (June 2004). "Neuromuscular effects and acute toxicity of an ethyl acetate extract of Spigelia anthelmia Linn". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 92 (2–3): 257–261. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.03.005. ISSN 0378-8741. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18.