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.