Common Name:

General Information

Dioclea grandiflora is a climbing plant with twining stems.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and emergency food.

Known Hazards

The seed contains anti-nutritional substances. These include a soluble substance of small molecular weight which caused food intake to be reduced to levels well below that required to meet minimum protein, energy, vitamin and mineral requirements, and led to poor growth. This factor could be reduced substantially by exhaustive dialysis or by aqueous ethanol extraction of the meal[].
In addition, the constitutent lectin, which was partially resistant in vitro and in vivo to degradation by gastrointestinal enzymes, also contributed to growth depression[].

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Brazil

Habitat

Savannah or scrub.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Climber
Height	0.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[]. A traditional food of the native peoples, it is still used by rural populations as an emergency food in times of shortage[]. See notes above regarding toxicity.

Medicinal

The seed and root bark have been widely used to treat prostate disorders and kidney stones[, ].

The seeds and root bark have shown analgesic activity[].
An ethanol extract of the seedpods has shown antinociceptive activity and possibly antiinflammatory activity[].

The seed of this species (and many other members of the genus) contain lectins that have a range of actions within the body that are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Many have the potential as the basis of new drugs to treat a range of diseases including cancer.

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

The seed has a very tough seedcoat and a firm flesh. Many species in the genus grow near rivers or the sea and their seeds can be carried for many months over long distances in the water, whilst retaining viability. It is believed that the seed of some species can retain viability for over 100 years in the soil so long as the seedcoat is not damaged. In order to get the seeds to germinate within one's own lifetime, it is generally necessary to damage the seedcoat without damaging the flesh inside. This can be done quite easily by either cutting a notch into the seedcoat, or abrading it with sandpaper. Once this is done, soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and it should germinate quite quickly[].

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