Mirabilis jalapa 紫茉莉

POISONOUS PARTS

Roots and seeds.^3,4

TOXICITY

• Toxic Constituents

  Not identified.

• Poisoning Features

  Stomatitis, vomiting, diarrhoea, numbness, headache, dizziness, tinnitus and hearing loss.^2,3,5,6

• Poisoning Events

  A 56-year-old woman who had a history of dizziness and headache presented with facial numbness and tinnitus after taking a soup made with M. jalapa, which was mistaken as a Chinese herb "Tianma" (Gastrodia elata). Her symptoms gradually improved after 3 weeks.⁷

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Supportive treatment.

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES

Perennial herbs, 30–100 cm tall. Stems erect, often reddish, with tumid nodes. Leaves opposite; leaf blades 5–11(–15) × 3.5–6 cm. Flowers dichotomous cymes terminal, opening in the afternoon. Calyx red, yellow, white or striped, tubes 4.5–5 cm long; limb 5-lobed, about 2.5 cm in diameter. Stamens 5. Fruits about 5 mm in diameter, black, with tubercles and persistent green involucre-lobes.⁸

MEDICINAL USES

Uses in TCM—roots: induce diuresis, purge heat, remove toxin and activate blood, dissipate stasis; flowers: moisten the lung, cool blood. Recommended dose: roots 15–30 g, flowers 60–120 g.^2,9

CASES IN TRL

In 2010, a young man presented with dizziness, headache and progressive muscle weakness after taking a decoction prepared from the roots of M. jalapa. He improved with supportive treatment and was discharged the next day.