Croton tiglium

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Purging croton

|image = Croton_tiglium_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-197.jpg

|image_caption =

|genus = Croton

|species = tiglium

|authority = L.{{GRIN | accessdate=2008-02-19 }} (1753)

|synonyms_ref = [http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-51357 Croton tiglium], theplantlist.org

|synonyms = *Croton acutus Thunb.

  • Croton arboreus Shecut
  • Croton birmanicus Müll.Arg.
  • Croton camaza Perr.
  • Croton himalaicus D.G.Long
  • Croton jamalgota Buch.-Ham.
  • Croton muricatus Blanco [Illegitimate]
  • Croton officinalis (Klotzsch) Alston [Illegitimate]
  • Croton pavana Buch.-Ham.
  • Croton tiglium var. tiglium
  • Halecus verus Raf.
  • Kurkas tiglium (L.) Raf.
  • Oxydectes birmanica (Müll.Arg.) Kuntze
  • Oxydectes blancoana Kuntze
  • Oxydectes pavana (Buch.-Ham.) Kuntze
  • Oxydectes tiglium (L.) Kuntze
  • Tiglium officinale Klotzsch

}}

Croton tiglium, known as purging croton, is a plant species in the family Euphorbiaceae.

Etymology

The specific name tiglium is of obscure origin. It may come from the traditional name given by pharmacists to the seeds of the croton plant. According to one suggestion, it may be derived from the Greek tiglos, diarrhea. According to another, it may refer to one of the Maluku islands in Indonesia, ostensibly the home habitat of the species.Alexander Senning, [https://books.google.com/books?id=M6zWDwAAQBAJ&dq=tiglium+maluku+island&pg=PT80 The Etymology of Chemical Names] (Berlin: DeGruyter, 2019), under "Tiglic acid".

Traditional uses

Croton tiglium is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has the name bā dòu ({{zh|c=}}){{citation needed|date=February 2018}}. C. tiglium is known as japaala/ජාපාල or jayapala in Sinhala and used in Sinhala traditional medical system of Sri Lanka and in Sanskrit. The seeds are called jamālgoṭa in Hindi, Marathi, and Urdu, and are well known for their toxicity (severe purgative effect). They are used to treat constipation after the seeds have undergone a traditional Ayurvedic detoxification process with cow's milk (godugdha). This is referred to as Śodhana, a general term for detoxification.PMC4264303{{cite journal |pmc=3336487 |title=Gastro-intestinal effects of Croton tiglium in Experimental Animals |author=N. R. Pillai |journal=Ancient Science of Life |volume=18 |issue=3&4 |date=1999 |pages=205–209 |pmid=22556892}} The plant is poisonous, with the bark used as an arrow poison and the seeds used to poison fish.[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Croton_tiglium.html Croton tiglium Purdue University]

Chemical constituents

Major known chemical constituents are {{chem name|crotonoleic acid}}, glyceryl crotonate, crotonic acid {{citation needed|date=December 2014}}, crotonic resin, and various co-carcinogenic phorbol derivatives.

File:Croton tiglium - Autumn leaves.jpg

File:Croton tiglium - Stem with bark.jpg

References

{{Reflist}}