Breynia (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Breynia J.R. Forster & J.G. Forster

Protologue: Char. Gen. Pl., ed. 1: 73 (1775).

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Chromosome number: x= unknown; B. fruticosa, B. vitis-idaea: 2n= 52

• Breynia discigera Müll. Arg.,
• B. racemosa (Blume) Müll. Arg.,
• B. vitis-idaea (Burm.f.) C.E.C. Fischer.

About 30 species of Breynia are found in tropical Asia, Malesia, Australia, the western Pacific Islands, and New Caledonia. However, the genus has never been properly revised and the actual number of species may even be as many as 50.

The main medicinal application of the various Breynia species is the use of the leaves as a poultice to relieve various pains and illnesses. The leaves of B. discigera are applied as a poultice in combination with either Justicia gendarussa Burm.f. leaves or cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum L.) over the kidneys to relieve kidney disorders. In Peninsular Malaysia a poultice of B. racemosa leaves, sometimes with turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) added, is used to treat headache, mumps, swellings in general, various skin diseases and as a febrifuge in children. Pickled in vinegar the leaves are applied for blotches on hands and feet. The sap of the leaves and roots is credited with antiseptic properties. In the Philippines the bark of B. vitis-idaea is used as an astringent to arrest haemorrhages. In India, the dried leaves are smoked like tobacco for tonsilitis. In Papua New Guinea, the squeezed leaves of B. vestita Warb. are rubbed over the body to relieve malarial and other fevers. A decoction of the bark of B. pubescens Merr. from the Moluccas is drunk to relieve stomach complaints. Some mention is made of B. coronata Hook.f. from Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo being used in traditional medicine in Borneo. In India B. vitis-idaea is reported as a good hedge plant. The young leaves of various species are sometimes eaten as a vegetable. The wood is used for general construction purposes and utensils.

Freshly collected Breynia material is most likely to be for home consumption or traded in local markets only.

Very little is known about the phytochemistry and pharmacology of Breynia. In an in vitro screening assay using a human lymphoblastoid cell line harbouring the Epstein-Barr virus genome, extracts of B. coronata Hook.f. showed tumour-promoting activity at a concentration of 0.2-1.2μg/ml.

Shrubs or small trees, sometimes scramblers, monoecious; indumentum of simple hairs.

• Leaves simple, distichous, usually glabrous, drying blackish, especially above; petiole short; stipules present.
• Inflorescence an axillary fascicle.
• Flowers small; calyx 6-lobed; petals and disk absent. Staminate flowers urceolate to bell-shaped; calyx lobes small, on inside with small scales closing flower when immature; stamens 3, united into a column, anthers along the column; pistillode absent. Pistillate flowers flatter, more dish-like, 3-locular, styles often absent, seldom united, stigmas when without style in an apical depression, erect, split.
• Fruit a small fleshy capsule, up to 5 mm wide, red, tardily dehiscent into 6 parts, in some species calyx enlarged, apical depression often showing as a corona, styles and or stigmas persistent.
• Seed triangular in transverse section, blackish, covered by a thin aril.

An overall revision of Breynia for South-East Asia is needed to clarify the status of some of the names in use.

Breynia is found in a variety of vegetation types, from the understorey of evergreen forest to swamp forest and mangrove to deciduous scrubs and savanna, often in secondary growth and along rivers and roads. The species are found in per-humid conditions and in areas with a seasonal dry period, from sea-level up to 2500 m altitude. The soils are usually sand, sandstone or alluvial soils.

As a rule only material from wild plants of Breynia is collected for medicinal purposes, but its occurrence along roads may be due to some selective planting or sowing.

The leaves, which are most often collected, are available throughout the year and they are collected from wild specimens, which may be locally very common. The quality of the leaves may be lower during the dry season.

The leaves of Breynia are used fresh.

The Breynia species of medicinal importance are relatively widespread and also found in disturbed habitats. Therefore the risk of genetic erosion appears to be limited. No germplasm collections or breeding programmes are known to exist.

At present the use of Breynia is very limited. The effectiveness of its applications has never been properly tested.

• Airy Shaw, H.K., 1972. The Euphorbiaceae of Siam. Kew Bulletin 26: 224-227.
• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. Vol. 1 (A-H). Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. pp. 364-365.
• Chakrabarty, T. & Gangopadhyay, M., 1996. The genus Breynia (Euphorbiaceae) in the Indian subcontinent. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 20: 501-512.
• Holdsworth, D.K., 1992. Medicinal plants of the Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. Part I. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 30: 185-190.
• Norhanom, A.W. & Yadav, M., 1995. Tumour promoter activity in Malaysian Euphorbiaceae. British Journal of Cancer 71(4): 776-779.
• Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. pp. 138-139.

• P.C. van Welzen