Phytolacca americana (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Phytolacca americana L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 441 (1753).

Family: Phytolaccaceae

Synonyms

• Phytolacca decandra L. (1763).

Vernacular names

• Pokeweed (En)
• Raisin d'Amérique, morelle à grappe (Fr)
• Laos: kub nyuj (Hmong)
• Vietnam: thương lục.

Distribution

Originating from North America, now cultivated worldwide and sometimes naturalized. In South-East Asia particularly in Indo-China.

Uses

The roots in particular have numerous medicinal uses in Indo-China; they are also used in Chinese medicine. Young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The red fruits can be used to colour wine and foods, but the toxic substances must be removed. P. americana is a common ornamental in temperate climates.

Observations

• A perennial branched herb up to 3 m tall, often with purplish stems, roots tuberous.
• Leaves elliptical to ovate-lanceolate, up to 30(-40) cm × 12 cm.
• Flowers in racemes generally longer than leaves, bisexual, stamens about 10, in 1 whorl, carpels about 10, united in fruit.
• Fruit a berry, subglobose, 1.2 cm in diameter, 10-lobed, dark red, in racemose infructescences.

P. americana occurs in Laos up to 2000 m altitude. In Indo-China it is a relic of former cultivation for the dye from the fruits. The plant is often distributed by birds which eat the fruits.

Selected sources

• [80] Audy, P., le Quere, D., Leclerc, D. & Asselin, A., 1990. Electrophoretic forms of lysozyme activity in various plant species. Phytochemistry 29(4): 1143-1159.
• [298] Czapla, T.H. & Lang, B.A., 1990. Effect of plant lectins on the larval development of European corn borer (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) and southern corn rootworm (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 83(6): 2480-2485.
• [390] Edwards, M.E., Harris, E.M., Wagner, F.H., Cross, M.C. & Miller, G.S., 1988. Seed germination of American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). American Journal of Botany 75(12): 1794-1802.
• [33]Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam] (various editors), 1960– . Vol. 1–24. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, Paris, France.
• [424] Forni, E., Trifilo, A. & Polesello, A., 1983. Researches on the utilization of the pigment from Phytolacca decandra L. as a food colorant: part 1 - preparation of an extract free from toxic substances. Food Chemistry 10(1): 35-46.
• [425] Forni, E., Trifilo, A. & Polesello, A., 1984. Researches on the utilization of the pigment from Phytolacca decandra L. as a food colorant: part 2 - tests on pigmenting power and stability of phytolaccanin in model solutions. Food Chemistry 13(2): 149-160.
• [436] Fujii, Y., Furukawa, M., Hayakawa, Y., Sugahara, K. & Shibuya, T., 1991. Survey of Japanese medicinal plants for the detection of allelopathic properties. Weed Research (Tokyo) 36(1): 36-42.
• [450] Fukuyama, Y., Hasegawa, T., Toda, M., Kodama, M. & Okazaki, H., 1992. Structures of americanol A and isoamericanol A having neurotrophic properties from the seeds of Phytolacca americana. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 40(1): 252-254.
• [507] Griess, D., Enjalbert, F. & Rech, J., 1994. Diagnostic d'une intoxication par Phytolacca decandra L. chez le cheval *[Diagnosis of poisoning by Phytolacca decandra in horses]. Revue de Médecine Vétérinaire 145(2): 133-139.
• [538] Hamilton, R.J., Shih, R.D. & Hoffman, R.S., 1995. Mobitz type I heart block after pokeweed ingestion. Veterinary and Human Toxicology 37(1): 66-67.
• [590] Hiraoka, N. & Kodama, T., 1984. Effects of non-frozen cold storage on the growth, organogenesis and secondary metabolism of callus cultures. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 3(4): 349-357.
• [47]Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M. (Editors), 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 4 volumes. Macmillan Press, London, United Kingdom.
• [703] Kang, S.S. & Woo, W.S., 1991. Phytolaccoside I, a new saponin from Phytolacca americana. Fitoterapia 62(6): 532-533.
• [755] Kobayashi, A., Hagihara, K., Kajiyama, S., Kanzaki, H. & Kawazu, K., 1995. Antifungal compounds induced in the dual culture with Phytolacca americana callus and Botrytis fabae. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung, Section C, Biosciences 50(5-6): 398-402.
• [797] Kung, S., Kimura, M. & Funatsu, G., 1990. The complete amino acid sequence of antiviral protein from the seeds of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). Agricultural and Biological Chemistry 54(12): 3301-3318.
• [816] Larsen, K., 1989. Caryophyllales. In: Lescot, M. (Editor): Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. Vol. 24. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 144 pp.
• [900] Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaflicher und gaertnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of agricultural and horticultural plants (withouth ornamentals)]. 2nd Edition, revised by J. Schultze-Motel. 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.
• [1035] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
• [1057] Nowicke, J.W., 1969. Palynotaxonomic study of the Phytolaccaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 55(3): 294-364.
• [70]Petelot, A., 1952–1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [Medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam}. 4 volumes. Archives des Recherches Agronomiques et Pastorales au Vietnam No 14, 18, 22, 23. Vietnam.
• [1298] Schliemann, W., Joy, R.W., Komanine, A., Metzger, J.W., Nimtz, M., Wray, V. & Strack, D., 1996. Betacyanins from plants and cell cultures of Phytolacca americana. Phytochemistry 42(4): 1039-1046.
• [1356] Siemonsma, J.S. & Kasem Piluek (Editors), 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 8. Vegetables. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands. 412 pp.
• [1660] Zhu, X. & Hu, Z., 1989. Preparation of the antiviral protein from pokeweed seeds and assay of its toxicity. Acta Botanica Yunnanica 11(4): 440-448.

Main genus page

• Phytolacca (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Razali Yusuf