Boerhavia diffusa

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Boerhavia diffusa
File:Boerhaavia diffusa.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Core eudicots
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Nyctaginaceae
Genus:
Boerhavia
Species:
B. diffusa
Binomial name
Boerhavia diffusa

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Boerhavia diffusa is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family which is commonly known as punarnava (meaning that which rejuvenates or renews the body in Ayurveda),[2] red spiderling,[1] spreading hogweed,[1] or tarvine.[1] It is taken in herbal medicine for pain relief and other uses. The leaves of B. diffusa are often used as a green vegetable in many parts of India.

Description

File:Sooty tern and sticky Boerhavia fruit.jpg
Fruit of B. diffusa stuck to face of juvenile sooty tern

Boerhavia diffusa is widely dispersed, occurring throughout India, the Pacific, and southern United States. This wide range is explained by its small fruit, which are very sticky and grow a few inches off the ground, ideally placed to latch on to small migratory birds as they walk by.[3]

Distribution

A true and accurate accounting of the native range of Boerhavia diffusa has not been determined. However, it is very widespread, and has become naturalized in many places. It is believed[1] to be a native plant to the following places:

  • Africa —

Botswana; Egypt; Ghana; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa (Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape provinces); Swaziland; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.

  • Asia —

Burma; Cambodia; China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces) India;Bangladesh; Indonesia; Japan (Ryukyu Islands); Laos; Malaysia; Nepal; the Philippines; southern Taiwan; Thailand; and Vietnam. Also, on the Arabian Peninsula: Oman; Saudi Arabia; and the United Arab Emirates; and Yemen (Socotra).

  • North America —

Mexico; and the U.S. (in the states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina).

  • Caribbean —

Anguilla; the Bahamas; the Cayman Islands; Cuba; Dominica; Grenada; Hispanola (Dominican Republic and Haiti); Jamaica; Montserrat; the Netherlands Antilles (Saba); Puerto Rico; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • South America —

Argentina; Belize; Bolivia; Chile; Costa Rica; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guatemala; Guyana; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Uruguay; and Venezuela.

  • South Pacific —

Fiji; and New Caledonia.

Economic importance

B. diffusa is widely used as a green leafy vegetable in many Asian and African countries. B. diffusa can be used as a fodder for livestock, but has the potential for contaminating seed stocks, and may harbor pathogens for certain crops, such as eggplants.[1]

Chemistry

Boeravinones G and H are two rotenoids isolated from B. diffusa.[4] A quinolone alkaloid, lunamarine, isolated from B. diffusa[5] has shown some in vitro anticancer,[6] antiestrogenic,[7] immunomodulatory,[8] and anti-amoebic activity (particularly against Entamoeba histolytica).[9] The plant contains a protein called BDP-30, presumably a ribosome-inactivating protein.[10]

References

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Boerhavia diffusa was originally described and published in Species Plantarum 1:3. 1753. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Bhowmik, Debjit, K. P. Sampath Kumar, Shweta Srivastava, Shravan Paswan, Amit Sankar, and Dutta Dutta. "Traditional Indian Herbs: Punarnava and Its Medicinal Importance." Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 1.1 (2012): 52-57. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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