Abrus precatorius

Abrus precatorius

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NAME:  Abrus precatorius

FAMILY: Fabaceae

COMMON NAMES: Crab’s eye, rosary pea, love nut, jequirity, prayer bead, country licorice

LOCAL NAMES: Oju-ologbo, omisinminsin, mesenmesen, iwere-jeje, Olorun yin-ni, otoberebere, idonzakara, Umkhokha.

USEFUL PART(s): Root, leaves, seeds

GENERAL USES: The seeds of Abrus precatorius are used as:

  • Units of measurement

  • Weapons

  • Jewelry (beads)

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

  • China

  • Thailand

  • Japan

  • Seychelles

  • Nigeria

  • Brazil

WHY IS IT GREEN? 

Abrus precatorius medicinal uses include:

  • Colds and cough

  • Convulsion

  • Rheumatism

  • Conjunctivitis

  • Contraceptive

  • Antimicrobials

  • Aphrodisiac

  • Ulcer

  • Anaemia

  • Antidote poison

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • Environmental weeds

  • Strange/unusual scramblers and vines

OTHER IMPACT

The seeds are toxic to both humans and farm animals

 FURTHER READINGS

Bhardwaj, D. K., Bisht, M. S., & Mehta, C. K. (1980). Flavonoids from Abrus Precatorius. Phytochemistry, 19(9), 2040–2041. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(80)83038-X

Ghosal, S., & Dutta, S. K. (1971). Alkaloids of Abrus precatorius. Phytochemistry, 10(1), 195–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90270-X

Hata, Y., Ebrahimi, S. N., De Mieri, M., Zimmermann, S., Mokoka, T., Naidoo, D., … Hamburger, M. (2014). Antitrypanosomal isoflavan quinones from Abrus precatorius. Fitoterapia, 93, 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2013.12.015

Limmatvapirat, C., Sirisopanaporn, S., & Kittakoop, P. (2004). Antitubercular and antiplasmodial constituents of Abrus precatorius. Planta Medica, 70(3), 276–278. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-818924

Manasi, N., Pimpalgaonkar, P. B., & Laddha, K. S. (2011). Studies on sodhana prakriya of gunja (Abrus precatorius Linn.) seeds. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 10(4), 693–696.

Nwodo, O. F. C. (1991). Studies on Abrus precatorius seeds. I: Uterotonic activity of seed oil. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 31(3), 391–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(91)90023-7

Olsnes, S. (1978). Toxic and Nontoxic Lectins from Abrus precatorius. Methods in Enzymology, 50(C), 323–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/0076-6879(78)50036-0

Osmeli, D., Kimia, B., Kedokteran, F., & Yarsi, U. (2009). KANDUNGAN SENYAWA KIMIA , UJI TOKSISITAS ( Brine Shrimp Lethality Test ) DAN ANTIOKSIDAN ( 1 , 1-diphenyl-2-pikrilhydrazyl ) DARI EKSTRAK DAUN SAGA ( Abrus precatorius L .). Macara Sains, 13(1), 50–54.

Singh, R. B., & Shelley. (2007). Polysaccharide structure of degraded glucomannan from Abrus precatorius Linn, seeds. Journal of Environmental Biology, 28(2 SUPPL.), 461–464.

Subba Reddy, V. V., & Sirsi, M. (1969). Effect of Abrus precatorius L. on Experimental Tumors. Cancer Research, 29(7), 1447–1451.