|
Botany
· Erect, somewhat
branched, smooth, half-woody herb or shrubby plant, 0.8 to 1.5 m high.
· Leaves: pinnate and about 20 cm long. Rachis with a large gland
at the base. Leaflets rank-smelling, occurring in 5 pairs, oblong-lanceolate,
4 to 9 cm long, and somewhat pointed at the base and tapering gradually
to a fine, pointed tip.
· Flowers: yellow and 2 cm long and borne on axillary and terminal
racemes. Calyx tube short, sepals imbricate; petals 5, subequal. Stamens
10, rarely all perfect, 3 to 5 being reduced to staminodes or sometimes
absent; anthers mostly basifixed opening by terminal pores or with the
slit more or less continued downward. Ovary sessile or stalked.
· Fruits: pods, about 10 cm long, 9 mm wide and thickened and
containing about 40 seeds.
Distribution
At low and medium
altitudes, as a weed in waste places, in and about towns throughout
the Philippines.
Part utilized
Entire plant– roots,
leaves and seeds.
Constituents
and properties
• Considered antiinflammatory, antibacfterial, antifungal, antiparasitic,
antispasmodic, vasoconstrictor, antioxidant, laxative, insecticidal
and antidote.
• Toxic components: anthraquinones, emodin glycosides, toxalbumins
and alkaloids.
Uses
Edible
Seeds can be roasted and
made into a coffee-like drink.
Leaves and flowers, cooked, are edible.
Folkloric
· Poisonous snake
and insect bites.
· Chronic gastroenteritis, constipation, indigestion, gastric
pains.
· Asthma, fever.
· Dosage: 9 to 16 gms dried material in decoction. For snakebites,
use pounded fresh material applied as poultice.
· In Peru, decoction of roots used
for fevers; seeds brewed for asthma.
· In Brazil, roots are used as tonic,
febrifuge and diuretic; used for fevers, menstrual problems, tuberculosis.
· In Panama, leaf decoction used
for stomach colic; poulitce of crushed leaves as antiinflammatory; and
fresh crushed leaves to expel intestinal worms.
· Used as abortifacient.
Studies
· Hepatoprotective:
Effect of Hygrophila spinosa and Cassia occidentalis
on Carbon Tetrachloride-induced Liver Damage in Experimental Rats:
The study concludes that the antioxidant content of Cassia occidentalis
might play a major role in hepatoprotection and controlling tissue damage
caused by reactive oxygen species.
• Protective effect of Cassia occidentalis
L. on cyclophosphamide-induced suppression of humoral immunity in mice:
C. occidentalis possesses antimutagenic activity against cyclophosphamide-induced
mutagenicity in mice. The study suggests that through the modulation
of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes, C. occidentalis may be influencing
the hematotoxic and immunotoxic responses of cyclophosphamide.
• Antimicrobial:
Antimicrobial screening of Cassia occidentalis L. in vivo and in vitro:
Ethanol extracts of C. occidentalis and metabolite-rich fractions (anthraquinones,
sennosides and flavonoids) of leaves, pods and flowers were tested against
human pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The anthraquinones were found to
be more active against E. coli and S. aureus. (2) Preliminary screening showed anthraquinones, carbohydrates, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, sterols, flavanoids, saponins, phytosterols, gums and micilages.
• Antihepatotoxic Activity of Cassia occidentalis:
An ethanol extract of leaves of Cassia occidentalis was evaluated
for antihepatotoxic activity against carbon tetrachloride and thioacetamide
as hepatotoxins.
• Antimutagenic: Study of the
aqueous extract of CO on its mutagenic potential against chromosomal
aberrations showed antimutagenic activity by modulating the xenobiotic
activation and detoxification mechanisms.
• Antimalarial: (1) The antimalarial activity of C occidentalis has been confirmed. The plant showed more than 60% inhibition of parasite growth in vitro. (2) In a study of the extracts of 3 medicinal plants for antimalarial activity, M morindoides and P niruri showed 74 and 72% suppression, while C occidentalis was slightly less active at 60% chemosuppression of Plasmodium berghei in mice.
• Antibacterial: In an Argentinian
study of 132 water extracts from 54 plant families, C occidentalis was
one of those that showed greater antibacterial activity against Salmoenlla
typhi.
• Antidiabetic: Ethanolic extract of C. occidentalis exhibited significant antidiabetic activity in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats, with improvement in parameters of body weight, lipid profiels and histopathologic changes showing regeneration of pancreatic B-cells.
• Antimicrobial / Phytochemicals: Preliminary screening showed anthraquinones, carbohydrates, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, sterols, flavanoids, saponins, phytosterols, gums and micilages. Of the extracts studied, the methanol and aqueous extracts showed significant antimicrobial activity against tested organisms, esp: P aeruginosa, P mirabilis and Candida albicans.
• Toxicological Reproductive Study: In the rainforests and other tropical regions of South America, CO is considered a potent abortifacient. Results of this study showed no statistically significant difference between the control and treated groups in many of the observed parameters. However, there was the presence of dead fetuses registered in both doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg of CO. Further studies are needed and its use is not recommended in pregnancy.
• Poisoning / Hepatomyoencephalopathy: Recurrent outbreats of an acute encepalopathy illness to in India, earlier attributed to a viral encephalitis, were probably caused by the consumption of C. occidentalis beans with its phytotoxins. causing a multisystem disease - a hepatomyoencephalopathy syndrome. Public education has the potential to prevent future outbreaks.
• Wound healing: Study showed the topical application of a methanol extract of C. occidentalis and a pure compound Chrysophanol, an anthraquinone derivative, promoted wound healing activity in excision, incision and dead space models in rats.
• Anti-Allergy / Anti-Inflammatory / Anti-Lipid Peroxidation : Study showed CO inhibited mast cell degranulation, stabilized HRBC membrane thereby alleviating immediate hypersensitivity besides showing antioxidant activity.
• Cytotoxicity / Antibacterial: Study showed dose-dependent in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer lines and antibacterial potential activity against B subtilis.
• Relaxant Effect / Antihypertensive: Study of the relaxant effects in rat aortic rings of an aqueous extract of the leaf of C occidentalis showed dose-dependent inhibition of contraction elicited by noradrenaline and potassium chloride. Results suggest the effect may be due to a direct relaxant effect and may justify its extensive use in folk medicine as an antihypertensive agent.
Caution / Toxicity
General info: Poisonous when taken in considerable
amounts by domesticated animals, known to cause deaths in cows, horses
and goats. The seeds contain emodin, mucilage, proteins, tannic acid,
fatty acids and essential oils. There are many anthraquinone derivatives and alkaloids in CO, and no single principle toxin has been identified. Toxicity seems to occur with seasonality, when the beans become palatable with the taste of raw edible beans.
Animals: Plant causes poisoning in different plant species. all parts are toxic, but with differing levels of toxicity. Most poisoning in animals come from pods and beans. In cattle, it is reported to cause severe muscle degeneration, liver degeneration and death. The toxic effects can be rapidly fatal.
Vet clinical signs: Toxicity manifestations include lethargy, recumbency, jerky respiration, tremors, diarrhea, ataxia, hyperpnea, incoordination. Death may occur within 24 hours.
Children: The beans may be an object of use in the games, playing house, play-cooking and accidental ingestions. Pica, an abnormal craving for food as a manifestation of disease or iron deficiency, can be a risk for poisoning in children.Case-fatality rate in acute severe poisoning is 75-80 percent in children.
• Poisoning / Hepatomyoencephalopathy: In India, cases of acute encepalopathy were subsequently attributed to consumption of C. occidentalis beans causing a multisystem disease - a hepatomyoencephalopathy syndrome. Public education has the potential to prevent future outbreaks.
• Clinical & Patho Features of Toxicity: The toxic effects in large animals, rodents and chickens are on skeletal muscle, liver, kidney and heart. Patho findings are necrosis of skeletal muscle fibers and hepatic centrilobular necrosis; renal tubular necrosis is less frequent. Toxicity is attributed to various anthraquinones, derivatives and alkaloids. The clinical spectrum and histopath are similar in animals and children.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Leaf powder, extracts, products in the cybermarket.
|
