Thapsia (plant)

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Thapsia
Thapsia garganica (Bauer).jpg
Thapsia garganica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Subfamily: Apioideae
Tribe: Scandiceae
Subtribe: Daucinae
Genus: Thapsia
L.
Synonyms [1]

Thapsia, commonly known as the deadly carrots, [2] is a small genus of poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. Their center of diversity is around the western Mediterranean, extending into the Atlantic coasts of Portugal and Morocco. Some species are used in traditional medicine. [3]

Contents

Description

Species of Thapsia are herbaceous perennials, growing 50 to 200 cm high. The inflorescences are large, regularly distributed umbels. The seeds have four wings, and are the main characteristic of the genus, which is distributed in the Mediterranean, on the Iberian peninsula, and North Africa.

The generic name Thapsia is derived from the Ancient Greek name θαψία (thapsía) for the members of the genus. The Greeks believe it to have originated from ancient Thapsos in Sicily. [4] It has a long history of being used in ancient traditional medicine. Algerians used it as a pain-reliever though they recognized that the plant was deadly to camels. The Greek colony of Cyrene exported a medicinal plant known as silphion , used as a purgative and emetic. Although its exact identity remains contentious today, some historians believe that the plant may have been Thapsia garganica. [5]

Cancer research

The chemical compound thapsigargin has been isolated from Thapsia garganica. A synthetic prodrug of thapsigargin called "G-202" is in preliminary clinical trials for cancer treatment. [6] The active constituent kills tumor cells by destroying their calcium balance. A biotech company called GenSpera, Inc. in San Antonio, TX is studying methods of delivering thapsigargin directly to cancer cells, avoiding damage to other cells in the body of the patient. [7]

Antiviral research

This same chemical compound thapsigargin is now being looked at as an antiviral to use against SARS-coV-2, the coronavirus virus that causes COVID-19. It has not yet reached the clinical trial stage. [8]

Species

20 species of Thapsia are currently accepted. [9] It is, however, a complex genus, and some authors may recognize different numbers of species. [4] [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Daucus carota</i> Species of flowering plant

Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World.

<i>Daucus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the celery family Apiaceae

Daucus is a worldwide genus of herbaceous plants of the celery family Apiaceae of which the best-known species is the cultivated carrot. Daucus has about 75 species. The oldest carrot fossil is 1.3 Ma, and was found on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean.

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

Thapsigargin is a non-competitive inhibitor of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA). Structurally, thapsigargin is classified as a guaianolide, and is extracted from a plant, Thapsia garganica. It is a tumor promoter in mammalian cells.

<i>Athamanta</i> Genus of flowering plants

Athamanta is a genus of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to southern Europe and northern Africa.

<i>Peucedanum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Peucedanum is a genus of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. Peucedanum boasts a global presence with diverse spread of morphological features. Peucedanum species are characterized by dorsally compressed mericarps, slightly prominent dorsal ribs, narrowly winged lateral ribs, and a broad commissure. However, the vast diversity of morphology, fruit forms, and phytochemical production makes classifying species in the Peucedanum challenging. Historically relevant in traditional medicine, Peucedanum's taxonomic complexity arises from its extensive diversity.

<i>Laser</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Laser is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to the Ural Mountains in Russia and northern Iran. The genus was first described in 1799.

<i>Athamanta montana</i> Species of plant

Athamanta montana, synonym Tinguarra montana, is a species of plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GenSpera</span>

Inspyr Therapeutics, Inc. is a development-stage pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company is focused on therapeutics that deliver a cancer-destroying drug directly to the tumor or its supporting environment, the tumor vasculature.

<i>Thapsia garganica</i> Genus of flowering plants

Thapsia garganica is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. It is a perennial native to the Mediterranean Basin, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.

<i>Thapsia villosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Thapsia villosa, commonly known as the villous deadly carrot, is a species of poisonous herbaceous plants in the genus Thapsia. It grows to about 70 to 190 cm in height. It has pinnate hairy leaves with sheath-like petioles. The flowers are yellow in color and borne on compound umbels. They develop into fruits with four wings characteristic of the genus. It is native to southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The plant was used extensively for traditional medicine since around the 3rd century BC.

Daucus insularis is a species of flowering plants of the family Apiaceae. The species is endemic to Cape Verde. The species was first described by Filippo Parlatore in 1849 as Tetrapleura insularis.

<i>Silphiodaucus prutenicus</i> Species of flowering plant

Silphiodaucus prutenicus is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Apiaceae.

Silphiodaucus is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

<i>Ferula assa-foetida</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Ferula assa-foetida is a species of Ferula endemic to Southern Iran. It is a source of asafoetida, but not the main source, although many sources claim so. The production of asafoetida from this species is confined to Southern Iran, especially the area near Lar.

Kozlovia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae.

Neonelsonia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae. It just contains one species, Neonelsonia acuminata, native to southern Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panamá, Peru and Venezuela. It is part of the tribe Selineae.

Rutheopsis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae. It only contains one known species, Rutheopsis herbanica(Bolle) A.Hansen & G.Kunkel

<i>Thapsia gummifera</i> Species of plant in the family Apiaceae

Thapsia gummifera is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the western Mediterranean; Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. It has been proposed as a candidate for the plant known in antiquity as silphium and gone extinct in Libya in the 5th century.

<i>Daucus decipiens</i> Species of carrot

Daucus decipiens, the parsnip palmblack parsley, tree angelica, or non-stinging hogweed, is a species of plant in the family Apiaceae.

References

  1. ↑ "Thapsia L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online.
  2. ↑ M. Seoane (1831). Neuman & Baretti's Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages. William Clowes.
  3. ↑ S. Iadjel; A. Zellagui & N. Gherraf (2011). "Reinvestigation of essential oil content of Thapsia garganica grown in the east of Algeria" (PDF). Revue des Sciences fondamentales et appliquées. 2: 30–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  4. 1 2 S. Castroviejo; et al., eds. (2003). Flora Iberica. Volume X: Araliaceae-Umbelliferae (PDF). Real Jardín Botánico. pp. 401–410. ISBN   8400081501.
  5. ↑ M. Grieve. "Thapsia". Botanical.com. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Thapsigargin prodrug G-202". NCI Cancer Dictionary.
  7. ↑ Kristen Philipkoski (2 February 2012). "Scientists Transform Deadly Plant Into Cancer Killing Smart Bomb". Gizmodo.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  8. ↑ David Nield (27 November 2021). "Molecule Derived From Poisonous Plant Blocks All SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Cell Cultures". ScienceAlert.com.
  9. ↑ "Thapsia L." Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  10. ↑ Pujadas-Salva, A. J.; Plaza-Arregui, L. (2003). "Studies on Thapsia (Apiaceae) from north-western Africa: A forgotten and a new species" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (4): 433. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2003.00233.x .
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