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Useful Tropical Plants

Caralluma adscendens

(Roxb.) Haw.

Apocynaceae


The authorship of this name is disputed, with some authorities citing the plant as Caralluma adscendens (Roxb.) R.Br. Although the name was proposed by Brown in 1811, the name was not validly published until a year later by Haworth[
328
Title
African Flowering Plants Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
Publisher
Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].

+ Synonyms

Caralluma adscendens (Roxb.) R.Br.

Caralluma attenuata Wight

Caralluma dalzielii N.E.Br.

Caralluma fimbriata Wall.

Caralluma subulata (Forssk.) Decne.

Stapelia adscendens Roxb.

Stapelia subulata Forssk.

Common Name:

Caralluma adscendens
Plant growing in native habitat
Photograph by: Arne Erpenbach; African plants - A Photo Guide
© Arne Erpenbach
Caralluma adscendens Caralluma adscendens

General Information

Caralluma adscendens is a small shrub with basally trailing, then upright, much-branched, succulent stems that are usually 30 - 60cm tall but are occasionally up to 100cm. The stem bases are up to 2cm in diameter[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild as a local source of food and medicine. A popular traditional medicine it is also cultivated in many localities[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. The plant is sometimes grown as an ornamental[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. It is sold in capsule form on the Internet as an appetite suppressant[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. Several patents have been issued on the preparation of the plant extract and the use of the pregnane glycosides in the treatment of obesity-related problems[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Known Hazards

The Moors people of the western Sahara are said to make a strong poison by macerating the crushed stems in sheep urine[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Botanical References


Range

Tropical Africa - drier areas from Senegal and Mauritania to Somalia; through the Arabian Peninsula to India and Sri Lanka.

Habitat

Gravelly soils and rocky hills, at elevations from sea-level to 1,000 metres[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Properties

HabitShrub
Height0.50 m
PollinatorsFlies
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of lowland areas in the drier tropics where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It tolerates high temperatures and an annual rainfall as low as 400mm[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Edible Uses

In dry rural India the plant (as Caralluma fimbriata) is cooked and eaten with spices as a vegetable, and it is preserved as chutneys and pickles[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. It is eaten raw by labourers as an appetite and thirst suppressant and endurance enhancer.

The fruits are sometimes cooked and eaten with salt[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Medicinal

The latex obtained from heated stems is used as ear drops to treat ear infections and is applied to the teeth to treat caries[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. It is also applied to wounds as well as the bites and stings of venomous animals, including spiders, ants, scorpions and snakes, in order to disinfect and heal them[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The crushed aerial parts, combined with the leaves of Ozoroa insignis, are used in the treatment of children's coughs[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The stems are crushed and eaten raw as a tonic against faintness due to fasting and are also used to treat chest and cardiac problems[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. A decoction of the stems is given to stop vomiting and to treat epilepsy[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The dried plants, or an extract of the plants, has received a lot of attention on the internet as a hunger suppressant to reduce weight[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The plant contains a bitter principle[
240
Title
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
Publication
 
Author
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C.
Publisher
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.
Year
1986
ISBN
-
Description
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
].
The aerial parts of the plants contain a number of pregnane glycosides that have moderate to high cytotoxicity[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The flavonoid luteolin-4’-O-neohesperidoside, found in the aerial parts of the plant, has shown significant anti-inflammatory activity and was more potent than ibuprofen. Its antinociceptive activity was less pronounced when compared with its anti-inflammatory activity[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
A butanol extract of the plant has shown statistically significant and considerable antihyperglycaemic activity[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The effect of an extract of the aerial parts was assessed by a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial on 50 adult overweight men and women. At the end of the trial, waist circumference and hunger levels showed a significant decline in the experimental group when compared to the placebo group, but differences in body weight, body mass index, hip circumference, body fat and energy intake were not significant[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Ethylacetate and butanol extracts from the stem have shown significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans in vitro as well as good anthelmintic activity against Pheretima posthuma in vitro[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cuttings.
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Caralluma+adscendens>

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