Bryophyllum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Bryophyllum Salisb.

Protologue: Parad. Lond.: t. 3 (1805).

Family: Crassulaceae

Chromosome number: x= 17, 18; B. pinnatum: 2n= 36, 40, B. proliferum: 2n= 34

• Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lamk) Oken.

• Indonesia: buntiris (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: sedingin, seringin (Peninsular).

Bryophyllum comprises about 30 species. Almost all species are restricted to or originate from Madagascar. However, the exact origin of B. pinnatum is unknown. In Malesia 2 species are found naturalized.

The main medicinal use of B. pinnatum in South-East Asia is in the treatment of boils, wounds, burns and scalds. In Indonesia, pounded leaves are used as a diuretic, and leaves are used externally to treat sores and pain in back and feet; a poultice is sometimes applied on sore eyes or to relieve headache; a decoction is used internally to treat fever and oedema; an extraction of dried pounded leaves in water is used against haemorrhoids. In Malaysia, the crushed leaves are applied to the forehead to treat headache and to the chest to treat coughs and pains. In Brunei, a leaf infusion is drunk as a febrifuge. In the Philippines, the leaves are used as an astringent, antiseptic, and against insect bites. Fresh, pounded leaves are applied to burns and as poultices on boils. Leaf juice is used (mixed with lard) to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera and phthisis. The leaves are also used as topicals to treat dislocations, equimosis and callosities. In Papua New Guinea, young leaves are heated over a fire and placed on sores, or applied as a poultice to boils, sores and swellings. In Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, fresh leaves are applied to burns, scalds, wounds, boils, skin diseases and corns and to treat ophthalmia, phlegm, rheumatism, neuralgia and pain.

The use of B. pinnatum for medicinal purposes is also widespread outside South-East Asia. In India, the leaves are applied to wounds, bruises, boils and, in the form of poultice or powder, to ulcers, whereas leaf juice is given to treat bilious diarrhoea and lithiasis. In West Africa, the juice is used as a diuretic and for the treatment of earache and ophthalmia. The leaves are rubbed or tied on the head against headache, and the roots are used to make a cough medicine. In Brazil, the leaves are used as an emollient and refrigerant over a face swollen from neuralgia or tooth trouble, and in Puerto Rico leaf juice is used to treat acute nephritis. B. pinnatum is also used as an ornamental plant and in ceremonies.

B. proliferum is sometimes cultivated in South-East Asia as a hedge plant, but there are no reports of medicinal uses.

The leaves of B. pinnatum are reported to contain "bryophyllin", a mixture of bufadienolides, with antibacterial effects on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. They are used to treat intestinal problems caused by such bacteria, and also externally. Further phytochemical investigations have revealed the presence of the bufadienolides bryophyllin A (= bryotoxin C), bryophyllin B and bersaldegenin-3-acetate in fresh whole plant material of B. pinnatum. Bryophyllin A can be converted into bryophyllin B by the addition of a catalytic amount of acid ((±)-10-camphor sulphonic acid). All 3 compounds have shown strong in vitro cytotoxity against KB-tumour cells; bryophyllin A and bersaldegenin-3-acetate were also cytotoxic to A-549 and HCT-8 cells.

Both B. pinnatum and B. proliferum can be poisonous to cattle and sheep when eaten in large amounts. The toxic syndrome is known as cotyledonosis (or "krimpsieke"), a neurotoxic syndrome, which, together with cardiac glycoside poisoning can be caused by Crassulaceae-bufadienolides. The bufadienolides bryotoxin A, B and C (= bryophyllin A) have been isolated from different parts of both species. High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis has revealed concentrations of 61 mg/kg bryotoxin (total of A, B and C) in the flowerheads of B. proliferum, and 24, 52 and 141 mg/kg bryotoxin (total of A, B and C), respectively, in the flowerheads, leaves/stems and roots of B. pinnatum. Experiments with the structurally comparable bufadienolides daigremontin and bersaldegenin-1,3,5-orthoacetate (from B. daigremontianum (Hamet & Perr.) Berger and B. tubiflorum Harv.) showed a pronounced sedative effect in mice at low doses (0.1-0.5 mg/kg; motility test), but a toxic effect at higher concentrations, inducing paralysis and spasmodic muscle contractions. A pronounced positive inotropic activity is also seen on the heart.

Furthermore, methanolic leaf extracts of B. pinnatum showed anti-inflammatory activity in rats and mice (carrageenin-induced oedema, cotton pellet granuloma, formaldehyde-induced arthritis, adjuvant-induced arthritis and turpentine-induced joint oedema). It is thought that the active constituents, β-sitosterol and some aliphatic alcohols might contribute to the effects. Methanolic leaf extracts also showed anti-ulcer activity in rats and guinea-pigs by providing protection against gastric lesions induced by e.g. aspirin, indomethacin, serotonin, reserpine, ethanol, histamine, acetic acid or stress. In mice infected with Leishmania amazoniensis, oral treatment with an aqueous leaf extract from B. pinnatum significantly decreased lesion growth and the number of viable parasites.

Ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extracts of leaves of B. pinnatum exhibited potent antimutagenic activities at non-toxic concentrations against reversion mutations induced by ethyl methane-sulphonate in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 100 and TA 102. Further fractionation into non-polar lipid and polar lipid fractions and investigations of these suggest that there may be different types of antimutagenic compounds in B. pinnatum.

Besides the bufadienolides mentioned, a variety of other compounds have been found in B. pinnatum: sterols (e.g. 24-ethyldesmosterol, sitosterol, clerosterol, isofucosterol), triterpenes (e.g. α-amyrin, β-amyrin, 18α-oleanane, bryophollone, bryophynol, ψ-taraxasterol), phenanthrenes (e.g. 2(9-decenyl)phenanthrene, 2(9-undecenyl)phenanthrene), alkanes (C₂₅-C₃₅, with C₃₁ and C₃₃ predominating), alkanols (C₂₆-C₃₄, with C₃₂ as major component), phenolic compounds (e.g. p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid, caffeic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid) and flavonoid glycosides (quercetin-3-di-arabinoside, kaempferol-3-glucoside).

Other Crassulaceae, notably Kalanchoe ceratophylla Haw. and K. crenata (Andrews) Haw., have comparable medicinal uses.

• Shrubs or shrublets with branches erect, cartilaginous, but usually somewhat woody, rarely regenerating from the base.
• Leaves opposite, simple or imparipinnate, fleshy, persistent, usually producing pseudobulbils on the margins.
• Inflorescence terminal or terminal with axillary paniculate cymes; bracts on peduncle distinct, abruptly shorter than leaves.
• Flowers bisexual, pendulous, 4-merous; calyx with sepals usually fused for more than half the length; corolla fused into a tube longer than the spreading lobes; stamens 8 in 2 whorls, filaments glabrous and fused to corolla tube in lower third, anthers usually protruding, with terminal appendage; ovary superior, consisting of 4 free carpels, abruptly constricted into longer styles.
• Fruit a many-seeded follicle.
• Seeds ellipsoid, with a constriction and abruptly widening at the blunt proximal end.

The formation of foliar embryos in the notches of the leaf is typical for Bryophyllum. Contrary to some other Bryophyllum spp., which develop plantlets under long days, foliar embryos in B. pinnatum normally develop into plantlets only when the leaf is detached or injured, or when cytokinin is applied to the attached leaf. Inhibition of plantlet formation in intact plants is probably related to high auxin levels. Release from dormancy is also reported to be initiated by external conditions, such as high humidity, absence of light or water stress, but the production of plantlets of B. pinnatum is not influenced by photoperiodicity.

The young plants on the leaves fall off after having formed roots and a thin stem with a few leaves. They may be transported by rain-wash. In Malesia, B. pinnatum never sets fruit. B. proliferum never flowers in lowland Java, and rarely in mountainous regions during the period March-August. It seems that no fruits are produced.

B. pinnatum was the first plant in which Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) was described. CAM plants are able to fix CO₂ at night and have photosynthesis with closed stomata during the day, to minimize water loss.

Bryophyllum is closely related to Kitchingia and Kalanchoe; sometimes the first two genera are united in Kalanchoe. However, several vegetative and floral characters can be used to distinguish Bryophyllum from Kalanchoe. Bryophyllum usually has pendulous flowers, larger, campanulate-globular calyces with fused sepals, corolla tubes constricted above the ovary, stamens inserted at the base of the corolla tube, carpels shorter than the styles, large epigynous scales, foliar embryos on the leaf margins in 50% of the species, a basic chromosome number of 17 for most species and almost all species are from Madagascar.

Bryophyllum is very hardy, and will survive under a low water supply. In South-East Asia, B. pinnatum is found up to 1000 m altitude, in sunny or slightly shaded locations. The habitat can be stony, is always dry and never far from human habitation. Naturalized B. proliferum is found in Java between 1000 m and 1600 m altitude. It is cultivated at lower elevations as well.

The easiest way of propagation of Bryophyllum is by foliar embryos. When leaves are cut and kept under warm and moist conditions, plantlets soon form. When these have formed roots and a thin stem with a few leaves, they can be separated from the parent leaf and planted. Bryophyllum can also be propagated through stem cuttings and seed.

Bryophyllum species are collected from the wild or grown in small quantities for home use, and information on specific care is absent.

In India, B. pinnatum is reported to be susceptible to the fungi Alternaria alternata, Glomerella cingulata and Colletotrichum dematium.

The leaves are simply cut and used fresh.

Bryophyllum species occurring in the Malesian region are widely distributed in other parts of the world. This widespread distribution, the relatively easy propagation and common use as a pot plant limits the risk of extinction. However, as both species are almost exclusively propagated vegetatively, the genetic basis in South-East Asia may be very narrow.

Bryophyllum species will remain of some importance as a readily available traditional antiseptic and counterirritant, and will be collected and/or grown in small quantities for home use. The antimutagenic activity merits further research.

• Akihisa, T., Kokke, W.C.M.C., Tamura, T. & Matsumoto, T., 1991. Sterols of Kalanchoe pinnata: first report of the isolation of both C-24 epimers of 24-alkyl-δ²⁵-sterols from a higher plant. Lipids 26(8): 660-665.
• Backer, C.A., 1951. Crassulaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (General editor): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 4. Noordhoff-Kolff N.V., Djakarta, Indonesia. pp. 197-202.
• Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. Vol. 1. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. pp. 380-381.
• Gaind, K.N. & Gupta, R.L., 1973. Phenolic components from the leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata. Planta Medica 23(2): 149-153.
• Houck, D.F. & Rieseberg, L.H., 1983. Hormonal regulation of epiphyllous bud release and development in Bryophyllum calycinum. American Journal of Botany 70(6): 912-915.
• Lauzac-Marchal, M., 1974. Taxonomie végétale.- Réhabilitation du genre Bryophyllum Salisb. (Crassulacées Kalanchoïdées). [Plant taxonomy.-Rehabilitation of the genus Bryophyllum Salisb. (Crassulaceae Kalanchoideae)]. Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sciences Paris. Série D. Sciences naturelles. Vol. 278: 2505-2508.
• Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. pp. 109-110.
• Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. pp. 349-351.
• Siddharta, P. & Chaudhuri, A.K.N., 1991. Studies on the anti-ulcer activity of a Bryophyllum pinnatum leaf extract in experimental animals. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 33: 97-102.
• Yamagishi, T., Haruna, M., Yan, X.Z., Chang, J.J. & Lee, K.H., 1989. Antitumor agents, 110. Bryophyllin B, a novel potent cytotoxic bufadienolide from Bryophyllum pinnatum. Journal of Natural Products 52(5): 1071-1079.

• Bryophyllum pinnatum
• Bryophyllum proliferum

• Wardah & M. Brink