Chenopodium ambrosioides (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
- Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 219 (1753).
- Family: Chenopodiaceae
- Chromosome number: 2n= 16, 32, 48, 64
Vernacular names
- Wormseed, Mexican tea (En)
- Philippines: alpasotis (general), adlabon (Igorot), bubula (Bontok)
- Vietnam: cây dầu hôi, cây dầu giun, thổ kinh giới.
Origin and geographic distribution
C. ambrosioides is native to Central and South America, and has been introduced in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. In the Malesian region, it is naturalized in mountainous regions in Java, Sulawesi and the Philippines, and has occasionally been found in Papua New Guinea. Its cultivation in Java for medicinal purposes was abandoned because it was unprofitable. It is still cultivated in the Philippines.
Uses
Wormseed is used all over the world as a vermifuge. It is an effective anthelmintic with a long history of use, and has been used in America since about 1800. Bruised fruits are administered in small doses or the juice from the plant is given undiluted or as a decoction in milk or water. It is effective against hookworms (Ankylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus), roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). The essential oil, which is generally considered as nervine and anti-rheumatic, is very effective against amoebae causing dysentery. Wormseed is also commonly used externally to treat ulcers, eczema and erysipelas. Crushed leaves are widely applied as poultices on bruises, insect bites and ulcers. In the Philippines, the leaves are also used as a carminative in poultices applied to the abdomen of children suffering from dyspepsia, and are also considered an emmenagogue. In Central America, it has been used as an antispasmodic and stomachic, and a decoction used to be administered as an internal haemostatic, as a remedy for indigestion and to treat ulcers. In Brail, wormseed is used in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Additional uses reported from southern Africa and Mexico include the application of an infusion against colds and stomach-ache, as an enema against intestinal ulceration, diuretic, emmenagogue and as sudorific. In India, the essential oil is employed in pectoral complaints and nervous affections. "Di-fu-zi" is a Chinese drug widely found on markets in China. It is derived from Kochia scoparia (L.) Schrader (synonym: Chenopodium scoparia L.), but sometimes also from C. ambrosioides or C. album L.; the preparation is known for its diuretic and antifungal properties.
In Mexico, wormseed is used in animal health care, particularly to treat gastro-intestinal nematodes in sheep. Fish diseases caused by helminths (e.g. Capillaria spp., Spirocamellanus spp.) have been treated successfully in Mexico by using wormseed. Wormseed has been found to be unaffected by Meloidogyne spp., and can be used in crop rotations for sugar cane fields infested with these nematodes. In Africa Congo-Brazzaville, wormseed is traditionally used to protect groundnut from insect pests; it showed effective control of the beetle Caryedon serratus.
Wormseed oil or extract is used commercially as a fragrance component in lotions and perfumes. The herb is also used in Mexico as a condiment in soups, used sparingly to impart an acceptable flavour.
Production and international trade
Wormseed was cultivated in the United States to control hookworms and roundworms until effective synthetic compounds became available in the 1950s. The annual world production of wormseed oil was estimated at 35 t by the end of the 1950s, but has since decreased. The price of the oil was US$ 22-31 per kg in 1983.
Properties
The glandular hairs present on leaves and fruits exude an essential oil. Oil yield is highest for fruits, up to 2.5%. The oil is colourless or pale yellow, has a peculiar disagreeable odour and a bitter, burning taste. About 50 compounds have been identified in the oil, accounting for 97%. The major compounds in the essential oil are p-cymene, limonene (up to 32.5%), α-terpinene, trans-pinocarveol (up to 27%) and ascaridole (1,4-peroxido-p-menthene-2, up to 86%). The chemical composition of the oil seems to differ considerably depending on the origin of the plants and botanical variety. Limonene and trans-pinocarveol have been reported as the main constituents of the oil from Mexican plants, but high amounts of ascaridole have been reported in oil elsewhere. The flavonol glycosides kaempferol 3-rhamnoside-4'-xyloside and kaempferol 3-rhamnoside-7-xyloside, along with kaempferol, isorhamnetin and quercetin have been identified from the fruits. Per 100 g the leaves contain: 85 g water, 4 g protein, 0.7 g fat, 7.5 g total carbohydrates, 1.3 g fibre and 2.4 g ash.
The crushed plant, the expressed juice, the flower spikes, the seeds and the seed oil of C. ambrosioides are well known for their use as anthelmintics. The essential oil and its main component ascaridole, which is considered the main active principle, paralyze, but do not kill the intestinal worms; they must then be expelled by a laxative. Activity is reported against a variety of intestinal parasites, e.g. Ankylostoma, Ascaris, Necator and Trichuris. Leaf extracts also showed an in vitro activity against Ascaris lumbricoides eggs. The oil should be used with caution: mild reactions are headache, dizziness and nausea, but in overdose it can cause cardiac and respiratory disturbances, convulsions, drowsiness, vomiting and weakness. It should not be prescribed to persons with nervous, heart or kidney troubles, or to pregnant women.
The essential oil has fungitoxic activity. It has been found to show strong in vitro activity against the dermatophytes Microsporum gypseum and Trichophyton rubrum, and also against Aspergillus fumigatus and Cladosporium trichoides. Experimental ringworm infection in guinea-pigs was cured within 7-12 days by an ointment containing the oil. The essential oil inhibited growth of Aspergillus flavus effectively at 2000 ppm, and mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani (causing damping-off of seedlings of e.g. mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) was totally inhibited by the oil at 1000 ppm on malt extract agar medium, without showing phytotoxic effects on germination and seedling growth. The lack of effect on germination and early growth of crops recorded in these experiments is contradictory to the allelopathic activity of wormseed oil and extract reported from other experiments. Storage for one year did not affect the fungitoxicity of the oil, neither did heating to 100 °C. Dry residues of wormseed plants mixed with soil (10 g of residue with 90 g of soil) effectively controlled Phytium aphanidermatum and Rhizoctonia solani infection of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). At 1000 ppm wormseed oil was found to provide complete protection to stored wheat from all fungi investigated, without showing any phytotoxic effect. Ascaridole itself also has antifungal activity. In laboratory tests this compound gave over 50% inhibition of Sclerotium rolfsii (Corticium rolfsii) at a concentration of 1 mg/ml.
Experiments with mice showed that a methanol extract of the dried aerial parts of C. ambrosioides has a hypothermic effect at 2 g/kg, as well as inhibitive effect on acetic acid-induced writhing at 3 g/kg, suggesting that the plant has some sedative and/or analgesic effects. Separation and isolation using these bioassays revealed that these effects can be attributed to ascaridole. Oral administration of ascaridole in mice at a dose of 100 mg/kg showed a significant hypothermic and analgesic effect, prolonged the anesthesia induced by sodium pentobarbital and reduced the locomotor activity enhanced by methamphetamine. Doses of 300 mg/kg, however, had lethal toxicity.
Ascaridole is also reported to be a potent inhibitor of plasmodial growth in lower concentrations, and to kill malarial parasites in higher concentrations. It is effective at about the same dose as chloroquine and artemisinin. Like artemisinin the compound is one of the few naturally occurring terpenes bearing a peroxide group. This peroxide group must be essential for the antimalarial activity of ascaridole, because 1,8-cineol (which has an epoxide group instead of a peroxide group) at identical concentrations is inactive.
Wormseed contains saponin, which is located mostly in the roots; the aglycone fraction of the saponin is echinocystic acid. The saponin is reported to have antifungal and molluscicidal activity.
Wormseed kills and repells insects, and also acts as an antifeedant. Dried plants give stored products some protection against weevils and beetles. Foliage has been used successfully to control the gelechiid moth Phthorimaea operculella, a pest of stored Irish potato. Limonene is insecticidal against a variety of flies, mosquitoes, ants, beetles, weevils, fleas, wasps, crickets, ticks and mites.
The terpenes p-cymene, ascaridole and aritazone have an allelopathic effect, and may inhibit seed germination and seedling growth of other plants. Wormseed has a role in traditional agro-ecosystems in Mexico in controlling weeds and reducing nematodes. Farmers allow it to grow only when crops are ready to be harvested because of its allelopathic activity. Wormseed extracts showed a moderate antioxidant effect on feed fats. Leaf extracts are effective in inhibiting infection of crops such as common bean by tobacco mosaic virus.
Adulterations and substitutes
In order to reduce the high ascaridole content to the minimum permissible requirement, synthetic chemicals corresponding to the constituents of the oil are frequently substituted for wormseed oil. Some Artemisia species were also popular as vermifuge in Europe, and commonly replaced wormseed there.
Description
- An erect or ascending annual herb up to 100(-150) cm tall, often very branched, strong-smelling; stem angularly ribbed, glabrous or finely pubescent.
- Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-15 cm × 0.5-5 cm, acute and often almost decurrent at base, acute to obtuse at apex, usually coarsely or shallowly serrate-dentate but highest leaves entire, herbaceous, bright green, lower surface variably densely studded with yellow glands, otherwise subglabrous, secondary veins thin; petiole short; stipules absent.
- Flowers in 3-25-flowered clusters in the axil of bractlike leaves, united in lax spikes together forming a leafy panicle, small, bisexual or some female, sometimes some male; perianth 4-5-cleft to near the base, 1-1.5 mm long, pale green with a paler base, with ovate-triangular, very concave segments; stamens (1-)4-5, filaments free, slightly exceeding the perianth; ovary superior, depressed globose, with many small, yellow glands on top, 1-celled, stigmas (2-)3-5.
- Fruit a nut entirely concealed by the connivent tepals, 1-seeded.
- Seed usually horizontally in fruit, broadly obovoid or ellipsoid, 0.6-0.8 mm in diameter, shiny brownish-black.
Growth and development
Wormseed flowers and fruits throughout the year. It produces massive amounts of seed.
Other botanical information
Chenopodium comprises perhaps up to 250 species. C. ambrosioides is very variable and shows an extremely large area of distribution. Several infraspecific taxa have been distinguished giving rise to at least 12 different varieties. Most important are var. ambrosioides and var. anthelminticum (L.) A. Gray (synonym: C. anthelminticum L.) which are commonly cultivated in many warmer parts of the world.
Several other Chenopodium species are used in folk medicine in Central and South America for similar purposes as wormseed, e.g. C. chilense Schrader, C. graveolens Willd. and C. multifidum L.
Ecology
C. ambrosioides occurs locally abundantly along roadsides and in waste places, sometimes also in upland rice fields; in Java it occurs at 1600-2000 m altitude.
Propagation and planting
Wormseed is propagated by seed. It is reported that 6-10 kg/ha of seed is sufficient. Seeds germinate 7-21 days after sowing. Germination is promoted by light and optimum temperatures are 15-35 °C. Imbibed seed should be pretreated with low temperatures. The optimal planting distance in Java is 1 m between rows and 0.5 m within the row.
Husbandry
Wormseed needs plenty of water during early growth, but later it is quite drought tolerant. Large doses of N fertilizer reduce the ascaridole content of the plants; it is common practice to apply N fertilizer at 40 kg/ha. A leguminous cover crop, e.g. Vigna hosei (Craib) Backer ex K. Heyne, is sometimes used in Indonesia, making N fertilization redundant.
Diseases and pests
In South America, downy mildew caused by Peronospora spp. is an important disease in cultivated Chenopodium spp., including wormseed. Weedy wormseed can be a host of powdery mildew; the disease can spread to tomato.
Harvesting
Wormseed is harvested when the fruits are ripe. Usually they are stripped off by hand in the early morning and in dry weather.
Yield
An experimental plantation in Java yielded about 8 t/ha of dried fruits during a period of 1.5 years with 3 successive harvests; after each of the first two harvests the plants were cut and fertilizer was applied. Fruits may yield 1-2% of oil on distillation, thus giving a yield of 80-150 kg of oil per ha. Experimental plantations in Germany yielded 70 t of fresh and 14 t of dried whole plant material per ha.
Handling after harvest
Harvested fruits are sun-dried and cleaned from broken leaflets and flower remains by sieving. The oil is obtained by steam distillation at 130-140 °C and at a pressure of 3.5-4 atmosphere. Pure oil can be obtained when cooled to 50 °C or more.
Genetic resources and breeding
Wormseed is spread worldwide and needs no protection measures. It exhibits considerable variation in morphology and chemical composition and offers potential for breeding for specific purposes (e.g. var. anthelminticum has a high proportion of ascaridole).
Prospects
Although the importance of wormseed as anthelmintic has waned, it may have promising prospects for various uses. The leaves seem safe to be used as a medicinal tea, as long as it is not overused. Stored products such as beans could possibly be treated with wormseed oil for pest protection, provided there are no toxic effects for mammals. The effects of a wormseed crop in the control of weeds and nematodes in a rotation with field crops should be further investigated.
Literature
- Backer, C.A., 1949. Chenopodiaceae. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (Editor): Flora Malesiana. Series 1, Vol. 4. Noordhoff-Kolff, Djakarta, Indonesia. pp. 99-106.
- Badawy, E.-S.M., 1979. Ökologische und ontogenetische Einflüsse auf Drogenertrag, Nährstoffentzug und arzneiliche Wirkstoffe von Chenopodium ambrosioides L., Traubenkraut [Ecological and ontogenetical influences on drug yield, nutrient consumption and medical agents in Chenopodium ambrosioides L.]. Thesis. Institut für Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenzüchtung, Giessen, Germany. 159 pp.
- Jimenez-Osornio, F.M.V.Z.J., Kumamoto, J. & Wasser, C., 1996. Allelopathic activity of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 24(3): 195-205.
- Kishore, N., Dixit, S.N. & Dubey, N.K., 1989. Fungitoxic studies with Chenopodium ambrosioides for control of damping-off in Phaseolus aureus (Moong) caused by Rhizoctonia solani. Tropical Science 29(3): 171-176.
- Kishore, N., Mishra, A.K. & Chansouria, J.P.N., 1993. Fungitoxicity of essential oils against dermatophytes. Mycoses 36(5-6): 211-215.
- Okuyama, E., Umeyama, K., Saito, Y., Yamazaki, M. & Satake, M., 1993. Ascaridole as a pharmacologically active principle of "Paico", a medicinal Peruvian plant. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 41(7): 1309-1311.
- Paré, P.W., Zajicek, J., Ferracini, V.L. & Melo, I.S., 1993. Antifungal terpenoids from Chenopodium ambrosioides. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 21(6-7): 649-653.
- Quarles, W., 1992. Botanical pesticides from Chenopodium. IPM Practitioner 14(2): 1-11.
- Sagrero-Nieves, L. & Bartley, J.P., 1995. Volatile constituents from the leaves of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Journal of Essential Oil Research 7(2): 221-223.
- Vàzquez-Yanes, C. & Orozco-Segovia, A., 1990. Ecological significance of light controlled seed germination in two contrasting tropical habitats. Oecologia 83(2): 171-175.
Other selected sources
- Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
- de Padua, L.S., Lugod, G.C. & Pancho, J.V., 1977-1983. Handbook on Philippine medicinal plants. 4 volumes. Documentation and Information Section, Office of the Director of Research, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, the Philippines.
- Dubey, N.K. & Kishore, N., 1987. Fungitoxicity of some higher plants and synergistic activity of their essential oils. Tropical Science 27(1): 23-27.
- Dubey, N.K., Kishore, N., Srivastava, O.P., Dikshit, A. & Singh, S.K., 1983. Fungitoxicity of some higher plants against Rhizoctonia solani. Plant and Soil 72(1): 91-94.
- Dulawan, M.J.K. & Soriano, N.R., 1991. Antibacterial property of gatas gatas plant. BSc thesis pharmacy. Manila Central University, the Philippines.
- Kightlinger, L.K., Seed, J.R. & Kightlinger, M.B., 1996. Ascaris lumbricoides aggregation in relation to child growth status, delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, and plant anthelmintic use in Madagascar. Journal of Parasitology 82(1): 25-33.
- Kishore, N., Dubey, N.K. & Mishra, A.K., 1993. Efficacy of some essential oils against fungi causing deterioration of Triticum aestivum during storage. Indian Journal of Microbiology 33(4): 277-280.
- Morton, J.F., 1981. Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America. Bahamas to Yucatan. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, United States. 1420 pp.
- Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
- Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
- Pollack, Y., Segal, R. & Golenser, J., 1990. The effect of ascaridole on the in vitro development of Plasmodium falciparum. Parasitology Research 76: 570-572.
- Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
Authors
- Undang A. Dasuki
