Menispermaceae

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Menispermaceae
Temporal range: Cenomanian–Present
Moonseed fruit 1.jpg
Menispermum canadense
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Menispermaceae
Juss. [2]
Genera [3]

78, see text

Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek mene 'crescent moon' and sperma 'seed') is a family of flowering plants. The alkaloid tubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form of the dart poison curare, is derived from the South American liana Chondrodendron tomentosum . Several other South American genera belonging to the family have been used to prepare the 'pot' and 'calabash' forms of curare. The family contains 78 genera [3] with some 440 species, [4] which are distributed throughout low-lying tropical areas with some species present in temperate and arid regions.

Contents

Description

Ecology

It is thought that the cauliflorous species are pollinated by small bees, beetles or flies although there are no direct observations of this. Birds disperse the purple or black drupes, for example Sayornis phoebe (a tyrant flycatcher) eats the fruit of Cocculus . In Tinospora cordifolia a lapse of 6–8 weeks has been observed between fertilization and the first zygotic cell division.

The Menispermaceae predominantly inhabit low elevation tropical forests (up to 2,100m), where they are climbers, but some genera and species have adapted to arid locations ( Antizoma species have adapted to the South African deserts or Cebatha balfourii and its phylloclades have adapted to the climate on the island of Socotra) and other temperate climates. C3 photosynthesis has been recorded in Menispermum .

Phytochemistry

The family contains a wide range of benzylisoquinoline compounds (alkaloids) and lignans such as furofuran, flavones and flavonols and some proanthocyanidins. The most notable are the wide variety of alkaloids derived from benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline and aporphine, which accumulate as dimers, as well as the alkaloids derived from morphinan and from hasubanan and other diverse types of alkaloid such as derivative of aza-fluoranthene. Sesquiterpenes such as picrotoxin and diterpenes such as clerodane diterpene are also present, while the triterpenes are scarce and where present are similar to oleanane. Ecdysone steroids have also been found. Some species are cyanogenic.[ citation needed ]

Uses

The Menispermaceae have been used in traditional pharmacopeia and drugs have been formulated from these plants that are of great use in modern medicine. These drugs are based on alkaloids and include tubocurarine from curare, a poison used by indigenous South American tribes on their poison darts, that is obtained from species of Curarea, Chondrodendron, Sciadotenia , and Telitoxicum . A similar poison was used in Asia that was obtained from species of Anamirta, Tinospora, Coscinium , and Cocculus . Tubocurarine and its synthetic derivatives are used to relax muscles during surgical interventions. The roots of "kalumba" or "colombo" ( Jateorhiza palmata ) are used in Africa for stomach problems and against dysentery. Species of Tinospora are used in Asia as antipyretics, the fruit of Anamirta cocculus is used to poison fish and birds and the stems of Fibraurea are used to dye fabric yellow. The South East Asian species Coscinium fenestratum , a local Thai remedy for stomach ailments (which contains berberine and related alkaloids) was recently implicated in mass harvesting operations to prepare extracts usable as precursors in the manufacture of the drug MDMA. [5]

Fossil record

The Middle Cretaceous genus Callicrypta from Siberia has been placed into Menispermaceae. [1] The Paleocene fossil record for the family includes at least 11 genera identified from compression leaf fossils found in Alaska and 15 genera and approximately 22 different Menispermaceae species identified from the Early Eocene London Clay. The London Clay genera Eohypserpa and Tinomiscoidea named by Reid & Chandler (1933) from mineralized nuts and additional three genera Atriaecarpum , Davisicarpum , and Palaeosinomenium were later described by Chandler (1961, 1978). Additional species from those genera were identified in the Clarno nut beds by Scott and Manchester respectively. [6]

Menispermaceae is one of the most diverse families found in the Middle Eocene Clarno nut beds of central Oregon. Species belonging to thirteen different genera, mostly extinct, have been described based on cast or permineralized fruit and nut fossils from the beds, and four different foliage types are known from associated compression fossils. Chandlera and Odontocaryoideae were described by Scott (1954), while Manchester (1994) described Curvitinospora and Thanikaimonia . [6]

Phylogeny and internal classification

The APG IV system (2016; unchanged from the prior systems of 1998, 2003, and 2009) recognizes this family and places it with the eudicots order Ranunculales. Their trimerous flower structure is similar to the Lardizabalaceae and Berberidaceae, although they differ from them in other important characteristics. The APW (Angiosperm Phylogeny Website) considers that they form part of the Order Ranunculales, and that they are a sister group on the branch formed by the Lardizabalaceae and Berberidaceae families in a reasonably advanced clade of the order. [7] Kinship with the Berberidaceae is further borne out by similarities in phytochemistry e.g. in the presence of berberine and related alkaloids. It is a medium-sized family of 78 genera [3] totaling 420 extant species, [7] mostly of climbing plants. The great majority of the genera are tropical, but with a few (notably Menispermum and Cocculus ) reaching temperate climates in eastern North America and eastern Asia.

The genetic factors within Menispermaceae are very narrow resulting in many genera with one or a few species. According to Kessler (1993) [8] there wasn't sufficient data from genetic studies to evaluate subfamily and tribal division into five tribes (see Kessler, 1993, in the References section). As such, division was fundamentally based on morphologic characteristics of the seeds with doubts as to whether the tribes are monophyletic. Further molecular research compiled and conducted by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has clarified many of the interrelationships of the family. [7]

Chasmantheroideae

Burasaieae

Coscinieae

Menispermoideae

Anomospermeae

Cissampelidae

Limacieae

Menispermeae

Pachygoneae

Spirospermeae

Tiliacoreae

Incertae sedis

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranunculales</span> Basal order of flowering plants in the eudicots

Ranunculales is an order of flowering plants. Of necessity it contains the family Ranunculaceae, the buttercup family, because the name of the order is based on the name of a genus in that family. Ranunculales belongs to a paraphyletic group known as the basal eudicots. It is the most basal clade in this group; in other words, it is sister to the remaining eudicots. Widely known members include poppies, barberries, hellebores, and buttercups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranunculaceae</span> Family of eudicot flowering plants

Ranunculaceae is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.

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

Menispermum (moonseed) is a small genus of deciduous climbing woody vines in the moonseed family (Menispermaceae). Plants in this genus have small dioecious flowers, and clusters of small grape-like drupes. The name, moonseed, comes from the shape of the seed, which resembles a crescent moon. The word Menispermum is derived from the Greek words μήν (mēn), meaning (crescent) moon, and σπέρμα (sperma) meaning seed. The common name moonseed is also applied to some other species in the related genus Cocculus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papaveraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates like Eastern Asia as well as California in North America. It is almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae. Papaver is the classical name for poppy in Latin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curare</span> Group of chemical substances used as poison

Curare is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South America for hunting and for therapeutic purposes, curare only becomes active when it contaminates a wound or is introduced directly to the bloodstream; it is not active when ingested orally. These poisons cause weakness of the skeletal muscles and, when administered in a sufficient dose, eventual death by asphyxiation due to paralysis of the diaphragm. Curare is prepared by boiling the bark of one of the dozens of plant sources, leaving a dark, heavy paste that can be applied to arrow or dart heads. In medicine, curare has been used as a treatment for tetanus and strychnine poisoning and as a paralyzing agent for surgical procedures.

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

Anamirta is a genus of woody vines in the family of Menispermaceae, native to southern Asia. It has a single extant species, which is Anamirta cocculus.

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

Cocculus is a genus of four species of woody vines and shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tubocurarine chloride</span> Obsolete muscle relaxant

Tubocurarine is a toxic benzylisoquinoline alkaloid historically known for its use as an arrow poison. In the mid-1900s, it was used in conjunction with an anesthetic to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation. Safer alternatives, such as cisatracurium and rocuronium, have largely replaced it as an adjunct for clinical anesthesia and it is now rarely used.

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

Anomospermum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. It consists of five species from tropical America, ranging from Nicaragua to southern Brazil.

<i>Anamirta cocculus</i> Climbing plant

Anamirta cocculus is a Southeast Asian and Indian climbing plant. Its fruit is the source of picrotoxin, a poisonous compound with stimulant properties.

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

Abuta is a genus in the flowering plant family Menispermaceae, of about 32 species, native to tropical Central and South America.

<i>Stephania</i> Genus of plants

Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern and southern Asia and Australia. They are herbaceous perennial vines, growing to around four metres tall, with a large tuber. The leaves are arranged spirally on the stem and are peltate, with the leaf petiole attached near the centre of the leaf. The name Stephania comes from the Greek, "a crown". This refers to the anthers being arranged in a crown-like manner.

Curarea candicans is a species of flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae.

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

Cissampelos is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. Various species of this genus have a history of use in various traditions of herbal medicine. Moreover, many of these plants were used as curare applied as arrow poison during hunting.

<i>Chondrodendron tomentosum</i> Species of flowering plant

Chondrodendron tomentosum is one of six accepted species in the small genus Chondrodendron, belonging to the Moonseed family Menispermaceae. It is a large tropical liana native to Central and South America. It contains highly toxic alkaloids and is one of the sources of the arrow poison curare – specifically 'tube curare', the name of which is derived from the name of the medicinally valuable alkaloid tubocurarine.

Abuta aristeguietae is a species within the Abuta genus, a constituent of the Menispermaceae family.

Abuta dwyeriana is a species of the Abuta genus, which is part of the flowering plant family Menispermaceae.

Abuta pahnii is a species of the Abuta genus, which is part of the flowering plant family Menispermaceae. This genus consists of about 32 species, native to tropical Central and South America.

Abuta fluminum is a species of flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae.

References

  1. 1 2 Krassilov, Valentin; Golovneva, L.B. (2004). "A minute mid-Cretaceous flower from Siberia and implications for the problem of basal angiosperms". Geodiversitas. 26: 5–15.
  2. ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x . hdl: 10654/18083 . Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Menispermaceae Juss. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 .
  5. ↑ See the documentary film: "Death in the Forest". Speculation on the potential drug use of yellow vine. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXgaMwEejo Retrieved 11.42 on 10/11/18
  6. 1 2 3 Manchester, S.R. (1994). "Fruits and Seeds of the Middle Eocene Nut Beds Flora, Clarno Formation, Oregon". Palaeontographica Americana. 58: 30–31.
  7. 1 2 3 Stevens, P.F. (2015) [1st. Pub. 2001], Angiosperm Phylogeny Website , retrieved 28 January 2021
  8. ↑ Kessler, P.J.A. (1993). "Menispermaceae.". In Kubitzki, K.; Rohwer, J.G.; Bittrich, V. (eds.). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. II. Flowering Plants - Dicotyledons. Springer-Verlag: Berlín. ISBN   978-3-540-55509-4.
  9. ↑ Jacques, Frédéric M.B.; Gallut, Cyril; Vignes-Lebbe, Régine; Zaragüeta i Bagils, René (2007):Resolving phylogenetic reconstruction in Menispermaceae (Ranunculales) using fossils and a novel statistical test. Taxon 56(2):379-392.
  10. ↑ RODRIGUES, Eliana; CARLINI, Elisaldo L. de Araújo. Plants with possible psychoactive actions used by the Krahô Indians, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria 28(4): 277- 82, 2006.
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