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Botany
· Erect.
smooth, fleshy shrub or small tree, 2 to 5 meters high, growing
to 30 feet in the wild
· Branches are green, fleshy, cylindric, clustered or
scatterd, about 5 mm thick.
· No leaves except for a few, small, linear-oblong ones
which soon disappear leavin the stems smooth and cylindrical,
glossy green and pencil-thick.
· The involucres are shortly-stalked, clustered in the
forks of the smaller branches.
Distribution
Found from norther
Luzon to Mindanao.
Nowhere spontaneous.
Occasionally garden hedge.
Chemical constituents
and characteristics
• Euphorbon
isolated from the needles, with 4 percent caoutchouc.
The latex yielded 75 to 82 percent resin, and 14 to 15 percent caoutchouc.
• Studies show the latex to be rich in terpenes, including ingenol
and phorbol esters, the latter, highly irritating and shown to be tumor-promoting.
• Study isolated the6 terpenes: 1. cyclotirucaneol (2) cycloeuphordenol
(3) tirucalicine (4) tirucaligine (5) euphorginol (6) euphorcinol.
• Latex showed great similarity in composition and activity to
the highly poisonous croton seed oil from Croton tiglium.
Parts utilized
· Roots, stems,
latex.
Uses
Folkloric
· Heated root scrapings
mixed with coconut oil applied externally to the stomahc to relieve
pain.
· Poultices of stems used for healing of fractures of bones.
· Latex used for wound healing.
· The milky juice, in small doses, is purgative; in large doses,
emetic.
· Milky juice also applied to itches and insect bites. Also used
for ear aches, whooping cough, asthma. Also, used to remove warts.
· Poultice of roots used for ulceration of nose, hemorrhoids.
· Decoction of the branches for colic and stomach pains.
· The latex may cause eye irritation or blindness. Has been used
as a fish poison.
· In Africa, used as an insect repellant.
Root used for snakebites; the latex for skin tumors, syphilitic ulcers;
seeds and latex for intestinal parasites; decoctions of the wood for
bacterial infections.
· In Malaysia, stems are pounded
and used for swellings.
· In Dutch Indies, poultice of pounded
stems are used to extract thorns.
· Root infusion for aching bones.
· Poultice of root and leaves used for nose ulcers and hemorrhoids.
· In India, latex used for asthma,
cough, earache, neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache and warts.
· In Peru, used for abscesses, asthma,
cancer, stomachaches and toothaches.
Biodiesel
• With little effort
the poisonous latex can be converted to the equivalent of alcohol and
has led chemist Melvin Calvin to propose its exploitation for producing
oil. Milk bush grows on land not suitable for other crops, and is estimated
to produce 10-50 barrels of oil per acre.
• Bali-bali is included in the list of oils with a potention for
biodiesel: Algae Oil,
Artichoke Oil, Canola Oil, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Corn, Cottonseed
Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Hemp Oil, Jatropha Oil, Jojoba Oil, Karanj Oil, Kukui
Nut Oil, Milk Bush, Pencil
Bush Oil, Mustard Oil, Neem Oil, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Peanut Oil, Radish
Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame Oil, Soybean
Oil,Sunflower Oil, Tung Oil.
Studies
• Tradtional
use of the latex from Euphorbia tirucalli in the treatment of cancer
in South Brazil: The study concludes that cancer management with
E. tirucalli has no scientific basis and its esters have already presented
a tumor-promoting ability.There are also endemic cancers in places where
E. tirucalli is widely distributed and folklorically used.
• Developmental Toxicity: Toxicological
screeningin rats suggests that the latex aqueous solution of E. tirucalli
did not interfere with embryo development or implantation, but seems
to alter the placenta morphology.
• New highly irritant euphorbia factors
from latex of Euphorbia tirucalli L.: 5 new euphorbia factors
were isolated from the latex, all of which are highly sensitive to autoxidation.
• Anti-Tumor Activity: Study of ET
in tumor-bearing micer showed a modulatory effect on myelopoietic response
and levels of PGE2 possibly through regulation of granulocyte and macrophage
production and expression of functional activities.
• Tumor-Promoting: • Although touted folklorically for treating
cancers, studies on its esters show tumor-promoting activity. The latex
has been documented to promote tumor growth and/or trigger certain cancers.
Some studies consider it an environmental risk factor for Burkitt's
lymphoma.
• Anti-Arthritic: Study of a biopolymeric
fraction from ET showed dose-dependent anti-arthritic activity and in
vivo immunomodulatory capacity as a major component in inhibiting arthritis.
• Hepatoprotective / Antioxidant: Study of aqueous extract of E tirucalli exhibited significant hepatoprotective effect, decreasing serum enzymes, bilirubin, cholesterol and tissue lipid peroxidation and increasing levels of tissue GSH. The hepatoprotective effect may be due to its antioxidant potential.
Toxicity / Concerns
Toxicity, immune suppression, tumor-promoting,
and cancer concerns
Latex is rich in terpenes,
including phorbol and ingenol esters. Studies have shown the latex to
be toxic. Phorbol esters are highly irritating and has been documented
to promote tumors. One phorbol has been shown to enhance Epstein-Barr
virus (EBV) infection, cause DNA damage to immune cells and cause suppression
of the immune system. An extract has also been shown to decrease the
ability of T-cells to kill EBV.
• Although touted folklorically for treating
cancers, studies on its esters show tumor-promoting activity. The latex
has been documented to promote tumor growth and/or trigger certain cancers.
Some studies consider it an environmental risk factor for Burkitt's
lymphoma.
Contact Irritant / Uveitis / Keratoconjunctivitis: Latex skin contact causes burning and irritation.
Ingestion causes burning and irritation of the mouth, nausea, vomiting
or diarrhea. Several deaths have been attributed to the use of E. tirucalli
for medicinal purposes. Reports have been made of chemical eye injury
(keratoconjunctivitis) from exposure to the latex of ET.
• Many reports of mortality and morbidty with ingestion of the latex:
vomiting, perforation of the stomach, intestines and kidney. In rats,
it showed rapid severe inflammation, an oxytocin response, pro-convulsive
and anti-convulsive effects,
• The triterpene esters are all highly inflammatory with carcinogenic
activities.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Cultivated. |
