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Family Iridaceae

Tubang-bakod
Jatropha curcas
PURGING NUT TREE, BIG-PURGE NUT

Common names 
Galumbang (Pamp.)
Kasla (Bis.) 
Kirisol (Tag.) 
Taba (Ig., Bik., Tag.)
Taba-taba (Tasg.) 
Tagumbau (Ilk.) 
Tagumbau-na-purau (Ilk.) 
Takumbaw (Sbl.)
Tangan-tangan-tuba (Tag.)
Taua-taua (Ilk., Ig.)
Tauua (Ilk.)
Tuba (Ig., Bik., Tag.) 
Tubang-bakod (Tag.) 
Purging nut tree (Engl.)
Big-purge nut (Engl.)
Physic nut tree (Engl.) 

Botany
· A glabrous, erect, branched shrub 2 to 5 m high. Branches stout cylindric, green.
· Leaves: entire, orbicular-ovate, angular or somewhat 3 to 5-lobed, 10 to 18 cm long, acuminate, base cordate, the petioles long.
· Flowers: greenish or greenish-white, unisexual, 7 to 8 mm in diameter, the staminate ones villous inside, the petals reflexed. Stamen, 10, the filaments of the inner 5, connate. Cymes axillary peduncled.
· Fruits: capsules, at first fleshy, becoming dry, rounded, with 2 to 3 one-seeded divisions, 3 to 4 cm long.

Distribution
Very common in and about towns, in thickets and hedges along roadsides. The name derives from its cultivation and use as a hedge or fence (bakod).

Parts utilized
· Fresh leaves.
· Collected the year round.

Chemical constituents and properties
Bark contains chlorophyll.
Seed has a toxic principle, toxalbumin curcin, belonging to the same group as croton and ricin; curcin, comparatively, causes less gastrointestinal irritation. 8 drops of this oil has been reported to cause severe vomiting, followed by diarrhea.
• Latex contains alkaloids: jatrophine, jatropham and curcain with its anti-cancerous properties.
• Leaves contain apigenin, vitexin, isovitexin, etc used for malaria, rheumatic and muscular pains.
· Physic-nut oil consists of glycerides of palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids.

· Seed contains a yellow fixed oil, 29-40 %, known as Hell oil, Pinhoen oil, Oleum infernale, and Oleum ricini majoris; the activity is greater than castor oil and less that of croton oil.

Properties and constituents
Bitter-tart tasting, cooling natured, antipyretic, antispasmodic, anti-vomiting, haemostatic, suppurative.
Toxic - observe caution with internal use.
Oil of the seed is a drastic purgative.
Roots are emetic and purgative.

Leaves yield alkloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, phenolic compounds, steroids, terpenoids

Uses
Folkloric
· Internal administration treats acute gastroenteritis, abdominal pain, cholera, vomiting.
· External applications treats bleeding, ulceration of wound, pruritus.
· Dosage: Use fresh leaves, 2 to 3 blades, remove petiole, pound and extract juice, decoct in water.
· Seeds: 1-4 seeds is mildly purgative; an overdose causes drastic purgatiion.
· Decoction of leaves or roots used for diarrhea.
· The leaf decoction is also used as a cough remedy and as galactagogue.
· Poultice of bark used for sprains and dislocations. Sap is used for toothaches.
· Leaves are applied to wounds and pruritic lesions.
· A vigorous massaging of the oil onto the abdomen is believed to be abortifacient..
· Decoction of young leaves taken for fevers.
· Infusion of leaves, hot or cold, mixed with lime juice, used as lotion for fevers.
· In other countries, the seed is used as antihelminthic or abortive; the leaves as insecticidal.
• Roots used as antidote against snake venom; root extract used for bleeding gums.
• White latex used as mouth disinfectant; used externally for piles.
• In South Africa, traditionally used as laxative.
• In Peru, traditionally used for external wound healing and gastric ulcers.
Others
Oil , known as curcas oil, is used as illuminant and lubricant; in the manufacture of soaps and candles
Biodiesel
One of the Philippine plants (Tubang bakod, Malunggay, Bani) that has been considered asan alternative biodiesel source. Jatropha is easy to grow with minimum care, maturing in two years. However, unlike malunggay which is gaining preferable status over tubang-bakod (kasla), Jatropha is left with poisonous waste after oil extraction, while all parts of the Malunggay plant are used.

Toxicity !
• Reports of 31 cases acute poisoning in South Africa involving children from accidental ingestion of seeds. Presenting manifestations were nausea, vomiting and abdominal . source

Studies
Antibacterial: Study has shown antibacterial activity against S aureus and E coli.
Abortifacient: Study has shown a fertility regulatory effect of fruit of J curcas for pregnant rats. The pregnancy interruption occurred soon after implantation, with marked toxicity with extracts given for 10 days.
Anti-inflammatory: Study confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of topical JC root powder in paste form in TPA-induced ear inflammation in mice. The anti-inflammatory activity could be due to several mediators and involve the cyclo-oxygenase / prostaglandin pathway .
Wound-healing: Study with J curcas, A diffusa and P galioides showed significant wound-healing effect.

Disinfectant / Antiparastic / Antimalarial Study of the sap and leaves of J curcas showed the sap exerted germicidal actions on the S aureus, Bacillus and Micrococcus species. Also showed an inhibitory effect on larval growth of mosquito. Study suggest JC could provide a very cheap and readily available disinfectant and malaria vector control agent.
Toxicity Studies: Accidental ingestion in children caused a clinical syndrome of restlessness, vomiting and dehydration. A study in mice showed toxic effects manifested as macroscopic anal hemorrhage and death, with post-mortem findings of widespread hemorrhages of the colon and lungs, and and infarction of the liver.
Coagulant / Anticoagulant Activities: Study showed the whole latex sigjificantly reduced the clotting time of human blood. Diluted, however, it prolonged the clotting time; at high dilutions, it did not clot at all. Results suggest JC possesses both procoagulant and anticoagulant activities.
Mutagenicity Study: Study on five increasing amounts of latex of J curcas showed not mutagenicity activity.

Availability
Wild-crafted.


Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Therapeutic biology of Jatropha curcas: a mini review. / Current pharmaceutical biotechnology (Curr Pharm Biotechnol) / 2008-Aug; vol 9 (issue 4) : pp 315-24
(2)
Pregnancy terminating effect of Jatropha curcas in rats / Ritesh G. et al / Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol 47, Issue 3, 28 July 1995, Pages 117-123 / doi:10.1016/0378-8741(95)01263-D
(3)
Jatropha Curcas Poisoning / Indian Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 73—July, 2006
(4)
Anti-inflammatory activity of Jatropha curcas roots in mice and rats / Journal of ethnopharmacology. 2004 Jan;90(1): 11-5
(5)
Evaluation of the wound-healing activity of selected traditional medicinal plants from Perú / Journal of ethnopharmacology. 1997 Feb;55(3): 193-200

(6)
Disinfectant/antiparasitic activities of Jatropha curcas / Fagbenro-Beyioku A F et al / East African medical journal • 1998, vol. 75, no9, pp. 508-51
(7)
Acute Toxicity Studies with Jatropha curcas L / I Abdu-Aguye et al / Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 5, No. 4, 269-274 (1986) / DOI: 10.1177/096032718600500409
(8)
PHARMACOGNOSTIC STUDIES OF THE JATROPHA CURCAS LEAVES / B S Nayak and K N Patel / International Journal of PharmTech Research • Vol.2, No.1, pp 140-143, Jan-Mar 2010
(9)
Coagulant and anticoagulant activities in Jatropha curcas latex / Omolaja Osonlyl and Funmi Onajobi / Journal of Ethnopharmacology • Volume 89, Issue 1, November 2003, Pages 101-105
(10)
Mutagenicity activity of Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) latex / Fazwishni Siregar and L Kristiani / Berkala Ilmu Kedokteran • Vol. 39, No. 1, Maret 2007: 23-26


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