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Family Solanaceae
Kama-Kamatisan
Solanum nigrum Linn.
GARDEN NIGHTSHADE

Lung Kuei

Scientific names Common names  
Solanum nigrum Linn. Amti, amati(Bon., If.)  Lagkakum (Bis.) 
Solanum nodiflorum Jacq. Anti (Bon., Tag.)  Lubi-lubi (Tag., Bik., Bis.) 
Solanum rubrum Nees Bolagtab (Bis.)  Malasili (S.L. Bis.) 
  Gama-gamatisan (Tag.)  Muti (Sul., Buk.) 
  Hierba mora (Span.)  Natang-ni-aso (Ig.) 
  Hulablub (Bis.)  Nateng (Iv.) 
  Kama-kamatisan (Tag.)    Onti (Tag.) 
  Kamates-manuk (S.L. Bis.)  Black nightshade (Engl.) 
  Konti (Tag.)  Garden or common nightshade (Engl.) 
  Kunti (Tag.)   Lung Kuei (Chin.)
  Kuti (Bik.)  

Botany:
· An erect, branched, glabrous or nearly glabrous herb, 1 m high or less. Stems green, somewhat 3-angled.
· Leaves: ovate to oblong, petioled, 5 to 8 cm long, acuminate, base acute or acuminate, margins subentire or undulately toothed or lobed.
· Flowers: umbellately disposed 5 to 8 on each extra-axillary peduncle, nodding; peduncles 1 to 2.5 cm long. Calyx green, lobes ovate-oblong. Corolla tube short, the limb 5-lobed, corolla white, about 8 mm in diameter. Stamens 4, the filaments short, the anthers connivent into a cone. Ovary 2-celled.
· Fruits: dark purple or black, glabrous, globose, fleshy berries about 5 mm in diameter.
· Seeds are yellow and minutely pitted.

Distribution
Widely distributed in the Philippines, in waste places, flowering all year round.

Parts utilized:
· Entire plant.
· Collect from May to October, rinse, section into pieces, sun-dry.
· May also use fresh.

Properties
Sour tasting, mild refrigerant.
Antipyretic, antiseptic, diaphoretic, diuretic, antiphlogistic, febrifuge, purgative, sedative.

Constituents
Solanine; saponin; oil; dihydroxystearic, tetrahydroxystearic, linoleic, and oleic acids.
The unripe fruit contains the toxin solanine.

Uses
Folkloric
· Decoction of 12 to 18 gms dried material or 30 to 60 gms fresh material used for difficulty in urination, lymphatic obstruction, leucorrhea, eczema and furuncle infections, skin eczema, cold and fever, throat pain, cough.
· Decoction of leaves as wash or poultice of pounded fresh material for skin ulcers, wounds and irritations.
· Poultice of leaves, stems and roots used for cancerous sores, boils, wounds.
Nutritional
· Fruit used in pies and made into jam.
· Young shoots used like spinach; boiled leaves are edible.
· Only ripe fruits should be consumed or used.
Cosmetic
· Seeds of fresh fruit rubbed on cheeks to remove freckles and improve the complexion.

Studies
Anti-seizure: Aqueous leaf extract of SN produced a dose-dependent protection against electrically- and chemically-induced seizures in chicks, mice and rats with the anti-seizure property potentiated by amphetamine.
Anti-Ulcer / Antioxidant: Antioxidant effect of methanolic extract of Solanum nigrum berries on aspirin induced gastric mucosal injury : Study suggests that SN berries extract may exert gastroprotective effect by a free radical scavening action and offers a therapeutic potential in the treatment of gastric diseases.
Hepatoprotective: (1) Inhibitory effect of Solanum nigrum on thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in mice: Study confirmed SNE reduced the degree of fibrosis caused by TAA treatment probably through a reduction of TGF-B1 secretion. (2) Crude extracts of hepatoprotective plants, Solanum nigrum and Cichorium intybus inhibit free radical-mediated DNA damage: Hepatoprotective effects may be due to suppression of oxidative degradations of DNA in tissue debris. In the study, C intybus effect was more pronounced than the S nigrum effect.

Molluscicidal / Anti-parasitic: Study of the molluscicidal and antiparasitic activity of SNV showed the unripe fruit extract can be applied for the control of in the larval stages of G. truncatula and F hepatica.
Antitumor / Immunomodulating: Study of the crude polysaccharides isolated from S nigrum possess potent antitumor activity and SNL-P could exert antitumor activity via activation of different immune responses by directly attacking cancer cells on cervical cancer bearing mice.
Hepatoprotective / Anti-tumor: Study of the water extract of SN showed it suppressed the progression of hepatoma with increased survival rate. It also alleviated the AAF-induced hepatic inuury and early hepatocarcinogenesis as well as AAF/NaNO2-induced lethal hepatomoa, probably through overexpression of glutathione S-transferases, Nrf2, and antioxidant enzymes.
Hepatoprotective: Study showed the ethanol extract of the dried fruits of Sn with remarkable hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage in rats.
Nitric-oxide Production: Nitric oxide (NO) is an antitumour molecule produced in activated macrophages. Study showed Sn increased the production of NO by macrophages primed by recombinant interferon-y.
Antinociceptive / Anti-Inflammatory / Antipyretic: Study showed dose-dependent effects of the lipid-soluble extract of S nigrum leaves. on various animal models.
Anti-Inflammatory: Study of methanolic extract of berries of Solanum nigrum on carrageenan-induced paw edema showed significant anti-inflammatory activity.
Cytotoxicity / Anticancer: Solanum nigrum has been considered an herbal cancer agent and its active principle has been reported to be diosgenin.Study of methanolic extract of fruits of S. nigrum showed significant cytotoxicity effect on HeLa Cell Line.
Angiogenesis Inhibition: Study of the effects of S. nigrum in a chick chorioallantoic membrane model showed inhibition of angiogenesis.
Antioxidant / Antihyperlipidemic: Study of the protective effect of S nigrum fruit extract in ethanol-induced toxicity in rats showed significant antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activity.
Antiulcerogenic / Antisecretory Activity: Study of S. nigrum fruit extracts showed it to possess antiulcerogenic as well as ulcer healing properties, which may be due to its antisecretory activity.
Antioxidant / Antihyperlipidemic: Study showed treatment with water or polyphenol extracts of S. nigrum attenuated TPA-induced migration and invasion, effects that presents a potential for a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Toxicity !
Generally considered safe and cultivated as food crop in some places. .However, there are reports of toxicity regarding the fruit and leave depending on the cultivar and where it is grown. The unripe fruit contains the higher amount of toxin solanine. Berries are edible when fully ripe. Leaves should be boiled.

Availability
Wild-crafted. 


Last Update May 2010

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Solanum nigrum / Plants For A Future
(2)
Anti-seizure activity of the aqueous leaf extract of Solanum nigrum linn (solanaceae) in experimental animals / Noel Wannang et al / Afr Health Sci. 2008 June; 8(2): 74–79 /
(3)
Antioxidant effect of methanolic extract of Solanum nigrum berries on aspirin induced gastric mucosal injury
/ Mallika Jainu and shyamala Devi / Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry / Volume 19, Number 1 / January, 2004 / DOI 10.1007/BF02872391
(4)
Inhibitory effect of Solanum nigrum on thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in mice / Chang-Chi Hsieh et al / Journal of Ethnopharmacology Volume 119, Issue 1, 2 September 2008, Pages 117-121/ doi:10.1016/j.jep.2008.06.002
(5)

Crude extracts of hepatoprotective plants, Solanum nigrum and Cichorium intybus inhibit free radical-mediated DNA damage / Sarwat Sultana et al / Journal of ethnopharmacology • 1995, vol. 45, no3, pp. 189-192
(6)
Molluscicidal and antiparasitic activity of Solanum nigrum villosum against Galba truncatula infected or uninfected with Fasciola hepatica / H Hammami and A Ayadi / Journal of Helminthology (2008), 82:235-239 / doi:10.1017/S0022149X08982584
(7)
Antitumor and immunomodulating effects of polysaccharides isolated from Solanum nigrum Linne / Jian Li et al / Phytotherapy Research • Volume 23 Issue 11, Pages 1524 - 1530 / DOI 10.1002/ptr.2769

(8)
Solanum nigrum L. Extract Inhibits 2-Acetylaminofluorene-Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis through Overexpression of Glutathione S-Transferase and Antioxidant Enzymes / Jeng-Dong Hsu et al / J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57 (18), pp 8628–8634 DOI: 10.1021/jf9017788

(9)
Effect of Dried Fruits of Solanum nigrum LINN against CCl4-Induced Hepatic Damage in Rats / Kuppuswamy Raju et al / Biol. Pharm. Bull., Vol. 26, 1618-1619 (2003) / doi:10.1248/bpb.26.1618
(10)
Solanum nigrum produces nitric oxide via nuclear factor-[kappa]B activation in mouse peritoneal macrophages / An, H J et al / European Journal of Cancer Prevention: August 2005 - Volume 14 - Issue 4 - pp 345-350

(11)
Antinociceptive, Anti-inflammatory and Antipyretic Effects of Solanum nigrum Chloroform Extract in Animal Models / Zakaria Zainul Amiruddin et al / Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan • 126(11) pp.1171-1178 20061101
(12)
Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Methanolic Extract of Solanum nigrum Linn Berries
/ Ravi V, Saleem TSM et al / International Journal of Applied Research in Natural Products, Vol. 2(2), pp. 33-36, June-July 2009
(13)
IN-VITRO CYTOTOXICITY ACTIVITY OF SOLANUM NIGRUM EXTRACT AGAINST HELA CELL LINE AND VERO CELL LINE / Sanjay Patel et al / International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 1, Suppl 1, Nov.-Dec. 2009
(14)
Experimental study of Solanum nigrum on inhibiting angiogenesis in chick chorioallantoic membrane / Xu Y, Pan R L et al / Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2008 Mar;33(5):549-52.
(15)
Antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic effect of Solanum nigrum fruit extract on the experimental model against chronic ethanol toxicity / Vadivel Arulmozhi et al / Phcog Mag [serial online] 2010
(16)
Antiulcerogenic and ulcer healing effects of Solanum nigrum (L.) on experimental ulcer models: Possible mechanism for the inhibition of acid formation / Mallika Jainu et al / Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Vol 104, Issues 1-2, 8 March 2006, Pages 156-163 / doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.08.064
(17)
Polyphenol-Rich Extracts from Solanum nigrum Attenuated PKC α-Mediated Migration and Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells / Mon-Yuan Yang et al / J. Agric. Food Chem., 2010, 58 (9), pp 5806–5814 / DOI: 10.1021/jf100718b


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