Coleus barbatus
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Plectranthus barbatus kz02.jpg
|genus = Coleus
|species = barbatus
|authority = (Andrews) Benth. ex G.Don
|synonyms =
{{Species list
|Plectranthus barbatus|Andrews
}}
}}
Coleus barbatus, also known by the synonyms Plectranthus barbatus and incorrectly Coleus forskalaei (and other spellings of this epithet), is a tropical perennial plant related to the typical coleus species. It is known by the common name woolly plectranthus. It produces forskolin, an extract useful for pharmaceutical preparations and research in cell biology.{{cite journal|pmid=20178070|year=2010|last1=Alasbahi|first1=R. H.|title=Plectranthus barbatus: A review of phytochemistry, ethnobotanical uses and pharmacology - Part 1|journal=Planta Medica|volume=76|issue=7|pages=653–61|last2=Melzig|first2=M. F.|doi=10.1055/s-0029-1240898|doi-access=free}}
Name
File:Plectranthus barbatus (26409949835).jpg
The Brazilian name is {{lang|pt|boldo brasileiro}} ({{IPA|pt|ˈbowdu bɾaziˈlejɾu|pron}}), or {{lang|pt|boldo gaúcho}}, as opposed to the Chilean true boldo; {{lang|pt|boldo-da-terra}} ({{IPA|pt|ˈbowdu dɐ ˈtɛʁɐ|pron}}); {{lang|pt|boldo-de-jardim}} ({{IPA|pt|ˈbowdu dʒi ʒaʁˈdʒĩ|pron}}); or {{lang|pt|tapete-de-Oxalá}} ({{IPA|pt|tɐˈpetʃi dʒoʃaˈla|pron}}; 'Oxalá's carpet', because of its velvety texture).
In the French Caribbean, it is called "doliprane" (from the brand name of a paracetamol-based drug) because of its uses as a painkiller in folk medicine.
Description
It is a semi-succulent plant that grows as a subshrub to 1.5 m high by 1.5 m wide. The oppositely arranged leaves are relatively large with serrated leaf edges. Purple-blue flowers grow on upright racemose inflorescences that are up to 25 centimeters long.[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60454692-2#:~:text=The%20native%20range%20of%20this,the%20seasonally%20dry%20tropical%20biome. Coleus barbatus] by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
Taxonomy
File:Plectranthus barbatus kz02.jpg
Coleus barbatus was first described by Henry Cranke Andrews in 1810 as Plectranthus barbatus. It was transferred to Coleus by Bentham in 1830. Although Coleus was previously sunk into Plectranthus, the original binomial was revived in a major study of the subtribe Plectranthinae in 2019.
There has been some confusion over the synonyms of this species. Plectranthus forskaolaei was first described by Vahl in 1790.{{Citation |last1=Vahl |first1=M. |date=1790 |contribution=Plectranthus Forskålaei |title=Symbolae Botanicae |page=44 |oclc=475396338 |contribution-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38534783 |access-date=2020-07-31 |issue=1 }} Vahl's name is illegitimate, because he treats it as a synonym of the earlier described Ocimum hadiense Forrsk. Vahl spelt the epithet as "Forskålaei", referring to Pehr Forsskål, whose surname is also spelt "Forskål". The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants at Art. 60.7 specifies that "å" is to be replaced by "ao".
Willdenow in 1800 referred to Vahl's name, but spelled the epithet "forskolaei". ({{As of|2020|July|31}}, the International Plant Names Index had the spelling "forskalei".) It was probably this species that Briquet referred to when transferring a species to Coleus as "C. forskohlii (Willd.) Briq.", introducing yet another spelling of the epithet; however, Briquet did not explicitly refer to a basionym. Briquet regarded "Coleus forskohlii" as synonymous with what he called "C. barbatus Benth.", although Vahl had originally given a different synonymy. Paton et al. (2019) state that the epithets "forskalaei" or "forskohlii" are incorrectly applied to this species, instead treating binomials with these epithets as synonyms of Coleus hadiensis, in accordance with Vahl's original use.
Distribution
The distribution area extends from tropical Africa across the Arabian Peninsula to parts of South Asia and East Asia. It is native to Burundi, China South-Central, East Himalaya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nepal, Oman, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Yemen and Zaïre.
Chemistry
Herbal teas made from Coleus barbatus contain rosmarinic acid and also flavonoid glucuronides and diterpenoids.{{cite journal | author = Falé, P.L., Borges, C., Madeira, P.J.A., Ascensão, L.| title = Rosmarinic acid, scutellarein 4′-methyl ether 7-O-glucuronide and (16S)-coleon E are the main compounds responsible for the antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant activity in herbal tea of Plectranthus barbatus ("falso boldo") | journal = Food Chem. | year = 2009 | volume =114 | issue = 3 | pages = 798–805 | doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.10.015|display-authors=etal}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Porfírio S, Falé PL, Madeira PJ, Florêncio MH, Ascensão L, Serralheiro ML | title = Antiacetylcholinesterase and antioxidant activities of Plectranthus barbatus tea, after in vitro gastrointestinal metabolism | journal = Food Chem. | year = 2010 | volume = 122 | pages = 179–187 | doi=10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.02.044}}
Forskolin, which derives its name from the incorrect binomial name of this plant, Coleus forskohlii, has been isolated from the roots.{{cite book|last2=Murray|first1=Joseph E. | last1=Pizzorno| first2 = Michael T.|title=Textbook of Natural Medicine|date=2012|publisher=Churchill Livingstone|location=Edinburgh|isbn=9781437723335|page=686|edition=4th}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite web |title=Forsskål, Pehr (1732-1763)|work=The International Plant Names Index |url=https://ipni.org/a/12502-1 |access-date=2020-07-31 }}
{{cite web |title=Plectranthus barbatus Andrews |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=https://www.ipni.org/n/454267-1 |access-date=2020-07-31 }}
{{cite web |title=Plectranthus forskalaei Willd. |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=https://www.ipni.org/n/454397-1 |access-date=2020-07-31 }}
{{cite web |title=Coleus barbatus (Andrews) Benth. ex G.Don |work=The International Plant Names Index |url=https://www.ipni.org/n/60454692-2 |access-date=2020-07-31 }}
}}
External links
- [http://plants.usda.gov/gallery/large/plba2_001_lvp.jpg PLANTS Database image]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170416044725/https://www.ethno-botanik.org/Heilpflanzen/Plectranthus-barbatus/Boldo-Plectranthus-barbatus-en.html Photos and description of Plectranthus barbatus] (www.ethno-botanik.org)
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q87638983|from2=Q311226}}
Category:Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews
Category:Flora of East Tropical Africa
Category:Flora of West Himalaya
Category:Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Category:Flora of the Arabian Peninsula