Jatropha multifida 珊瑚花

POISONOUS PARTS

Sap, fruits and seeds.³

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Curcin and phorbol esters.^3,4

• Toxic Dose

  1 seed can be toxic.³

• Mechanism

  Curcin, a toxalbumin, inactivates ribosome and hence inhibits protein synthesis. Phorbol esters have purgative effect.^3–5

• Poisoning Features

  Ingestion: nausea, vomiting, severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, central nervous system depression. Skin or eye contact: local chemical injury.³

• Poisoning Events

  Multiple cases of J. multifida poisoning after accidental ingestion of fruit in children have been reported in Israel. All patients recovered uneventfully.^3,6

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment. Correction of fluid and electrolyte disturbances. Activated charcoal therapy has been used for gastrointestinal decontamination in J. multifida poisoning.^3,6

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Shrubs or treelets, 2–6 m tall; branches stout. Leaves basifixed, petioles 10–25 cm long; leaf blades nearly orbicular in outline, 10–30 cm in diameter, palmately and deeply divided into 7–11 lobes; lobes 10–15 cm long, often with 1–3 small lobelets on each side. Cymes compound, terminal; peduncles 13–22 cm long. Petals 5, red, about 4–7 mm long. Capsules about 3 cm long.⁷

MEDICINAL USES

In Asia and West Africa, the plant has been used in folk medicine to treat wound, skin infection, parasitic infestations and rheumatic conditions.^3,8

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Phorbol esters can be detected by LC-MS/MS.⁹