Echites umbellatus

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Echites umbellatus
Echites umbellatus (9099857847).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Echites
Species:
E. umbellatus
Binomial name
Echites umbellatus
Jacq. (1760)

Echites umbellatus is a flowering climber, belonging to subfamily Apocynoideae of the family Apocynaceae and has the English common name devil's potato. [1] It was first described in 1760 by Dutch botanist, Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin. The species grows in parts of Florida, Tabasco, Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Colombian islands in the Western Caribbean. [2]

It is a perennial with white flowers [3] and is toxic., [4] containing lycopsamine-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids. [5] Disease associated with consumption of PAs is known as pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis and many such alkaloids exhibit hepatotoxicity i.e. can cause severe liver damage, [6] [7] including hepatic veno-occlusive disease and liver cancer [8] They are also tumorigenic. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jacobaea vulgaris</i> Flowering plant, daisy family Asteraceae

Jacobaea vulgaris, syn. Senecio jacobaea, is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocynaceae</span> Dogbane and oleander family of flowering plants

Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here.

<i>Petasites</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Petasites is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, that are commonly referred to as butterburs and coltsfoots. They are perennial plants with thick, creeping underground rhizomes and large rhubarb-like leaves during the growing season. Most species are native to Asia or southern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borage</span> Species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae

Borage, also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts are edible and its seeds provide oil.

<i>Tussilago</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and ago, meaning to cast or to act on. It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant has resulted in liver health concerns.

<i>Petasites hybridus</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Petasites hybridus, also known as the butterbur, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is native to Europe and northern Asia.

<i>Eupatorium capillifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium capillifolium, or dog fennel, is a North American perennial herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the eastern and south-central United States. It is generally between 50 cm and 2 meters tall with several stems that fork from a substantial base. The stems and base are covered in leaves so dissected that they resemble branching green threads coming out of the stem in fractal patterns. When crushed, the leaves have a sour odor similar to dill pickles. The flowers have a subtle floral odor.

<i>Petasites japonicus</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Petasites japonicus, also known as butterbur, giant butterbur, great butterbur and sweet-coltsfoot, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to China, Japan, Korea and Sakhalin and introduced in Europe and North America. It was introduced to southern British Columbia in Canada by Japanese migrants.

<i>Eupatorium cannabinum</i> Species of plant

Eupatorium cannabinum, commonly known as hemp-agrimony, or holy rope, is a herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a robust perennial native to Europe, NW. Africa, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is cultivated as an ornamental and occasionally found as a garden escape in scattered locations in China, the United States and Canada. It is extremely attractive to butterflies, much like buddleia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrrolizidine alkaloid</span> Class of chemical compounds

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Their use dates back centuries and is intertwined with the discovery, understanding, and eventual recognition of their toxicity on humans and animals.

<i>Ageratum conyzoides</i> Species of plant

Ageratum conyzoides is native to Tropical America, especially Brazil, and is an invasive weed in many other regions. It is an herb that is 0.5–1 m. high, with ovate leaves 2–6 cm long, and flowers are white to mauve.

<i>Cynoglossum amabile</i> Species of flowering plant

Cynoglossum amabile, the Chinese hound's tongue or Chinese forget-me-not, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Asia. A hardy annual growing to 50 cm (20 in), it has hairy leaves and cymes of sky-blue flowers in late summer. This plant, closely related to the common forget-me-not of temperate gardens, is also grown as an ornamental. In cultivation in the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit..

Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) or veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency is a potentially life-threatening condition in which some of the small veins in the liver are obstructed. It is a complication of high-dose chemotherapy given before a bone marrow transplant and/or excessive exposure to hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. It is classically marked by weight gain due to fluid retention, increased liver size, and raised levels of bilirubin in the blood. The name sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) is preferred if hepatic veno-occlusive disease happens as a result of chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation.

<i>Eupatorium chinense</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium chinense is a plant species in the family Asteraceae. The exact boundaries of this species have been defined differently by different authors. King and Robinson's 1987 paper defines it broadly, to include Eupatorium japonicum, Eupatorium makinoi, some varieties of Eupatorium fortunei, and other plants sometimes considered to be separate species.

<i>Utetheisa ornatrix</i> Species of moth

Utetheisa ornatrix, also called the ornate bella moth, ornate moth, bella moth or rattlebox moth, is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in varying patterns on its wings. It has a wingspan of 33–46 mm. Moths reside in temperate midwestern and eastern North America as well as throughout Mexico and other parts of Central America. Unlike most moths, the bella moth is diurnal. Formerly, the bella moth or beautiful utetheisa of temperate eastern North America was separated as Utetheisa bella. Now it is united with the bella moth in Utetheisa ornatrix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senecionine</span> Chemical compound

Senecionine is a toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid isolated from various botanical sources. It takes its name from the Senecio genus and is produced by many different plants in that genus, including Jacobaea vulgaris. It has also been isolated from several other plants, including Brachyglottis repanda, Emilia, Erechtites hieraciifolius, Petasites, Syneilesis, Crotalaria, Caltha leptosepala, and Castilleja.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis is a disease caused by chronic poisoning found in humans and other animals caused by ingesting poisonous plants which contain the natural chemical compounds known as pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis can result in damage to the liver, kidneys, heart, brain, smooth muscles, lungs, DNA, lesions all over the body, and could be a potential cause of cancer. Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis is known by many other names such as "Pictou Disease" in Canada and "Winton Disease" in New Zealand. Cereal crops and forage crops can sometimes become polluted with pyrrolizidine-containing seeds, resulting in the alkaloids contaminating flour and other foods, including milk from cows feeding on these plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riddelliine</span> Chemical compound

Riddelliine is a chemical compound classified as a pyrrolizidine alkaloid. It was first isolated from Senecio riddellii and is also found in a variety of plants including Jacobaea vulgaris, Senecio vulgaris, and others plants in the genus Senecio.

<i>Echites</i> Genus of plants

Echites is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1756. It is primarily native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and the US State of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kleptopharmacophagy</span> Act of stealing chemical compounds for consumption

Kleptopharmacophagy is a term used for describing the ecological relationship between two different organisms, where the first is stealing the second's chemical compounds and consuming them. This scientific term was proposed by Australian, Singaporean, and American biologists in September 2021 in an article that was published in the journal Ecology by the Ecological Society of America. The phenomenon was first noticed in milkweed butterflies that were attacking caterpillars and drinking their internal liquid, proposedly to obtain toxic alkaloids used for defense, as well as for mating purposes.

References

  1. "Echites umbellatus - Species Details". Atlas of Florida Plants.
  2. "Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve - Plant Listings - Echites umbellata". Archived from the original on 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  3. "Plants Profile for Echites umbellatus (devil's potato)". plants.usda.gov.
  4. "The Spooky World of Plants". Archived from the original on 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  5. Burzynski, Elizabeth A., Minbiole, Kevin P.C. and Livshultz, Tatyana, "New sources of lycopsamine-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids and their distribution in Apocynaceae" March 2015 Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 59:331-339
  6. "Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook: Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids". Bad Bug Book . United States Food and Drug Administration . Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  7. Schoental, R.; Kelly, JS (April 1959). "Liver lesions in young rats suckled by mothers treated with the pyrrolizidine (Senecio) alkaloids, lasiocarpine and retrorsine". The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology. 77 (2): 485–495. doi:10.1002/path.1700770220. PMID   13642195.
  8. Schoental, R (1968). "Toxicology and Carcinogenic Action of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids" (PDF). Cancer Research . 28 (11): 2237–2246. PMID   4302035.
  9. Fu, P.P.; Yang, Y.C.; Xia, Q.; Chou, M.C.; Cui, Y.Y.; Lin, G. (2002). "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicines and dietary supplements".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)