This species is closely related to Euphorbia poissonii, and has similar uses[].

Common Name:

General Information

Euphorbia unispina is a spiny, succulent shrub with a stout, sparsely-branched stem that can be up to 3 or 4 metres tall; it looks rather like a cactus. The branches can be 16 - 25mm thick, usually with a few leaves at their tips. The whole plant is a silvery grey, it is covered with shallow tubercles and horny spine shields up to 1 cm in diameter with a single spine[, , ].
Although poisonous, the latex from the plant is harvested from the wild and used in local medicine. The latex contains various substances that have potential for use in conventional medicine. The plant is sometimes grown as an ornamental in west Africa; whilst in Europe and the United States it is a rare and difficult to grow pot plant in succulent collections[, ].

Known Hazards

The latex is very caustic, toxic and very irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. It can cause blindness when in contact with the eyes. It is incorporated into arrow-poisons, though always mixed with other ingredients, such as the seeds of Strophanthus species; it is also added to bait in traps and used as a fish poison[, ].

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Cote D'Ivoire to Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Sudan, south to Congo..

Habitat

Rocky hills and slopes in savannah; at elevations up to 800 metres[, ].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	3.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of drier areas in the tropics.
Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil[]. Succeeds in dry soils[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Although toxic, the latex is sometimes used in traditional medicine. Medicine-men hold that the site of sleeping sickness is in the ganglia of the neck and that ablation of them will effect a cure. They apply repeated dressings of the latex to achieve this[]. The latex is also used as a vesicant on areas of leprosy; it is rubbed onto the body to treat mental illness; and is placed in a carious tooth to relieve toothache or to help to loosen the tooth and render extraction easier[, ]. Two drops of the latex on an egg are eaten as an anthelmintic[].
The latex, combined with palm oil, is taken to treat constipation and colic[].

The stem ash is inhaled to treat asthma[]. The dried leaves are smoked in a pipe to treat bronchitis[].
A macerate of the cut stems in water is applied to skin diseases and haemorrhoids[].

The vesicant action is due to the presence of triterpene derivatives[].
The latex contains esters of diterpene alcohols of both the daphnane and tigliane types, resiniferonol, as well as several macrocyclic esters of the diterpene alcohol 18-hydroxyingol. Daphnane esters are generally known for their potent skin irritant properties, whereas tigliane esters are toxic and tumour promoters; some tigliane esters, however, possess anticancer activities[].
Resiniferatoxin is highly toxic, as it binds to pain receptors in the same way as capsaicin but much more powerfully. It stimulates the neurons to fire repeatedly until the neuron dies, causing searing pain and sending the victim into severe anaphylactic shock. It is used in the treatment of incontinence associated with an overactive bladder. It also has antifeedant and analgesic properties. Efforts are being made to synthesize this compound, as it will be of use in the elucidation of the binding characteristics of resiniferatoxin to its receptor sites[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is sometimes grown in gardens in west Africa as an ornamental plant or as a hedge around fields and graveyards[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Easily propagated by stem cuttings. These should be at least 20cm long, preferably cut at the base of a branch where the cut surface will be woody. After cutting they should be allowed to lie in a shaded place for at least 2 weeks for a callus to form on the cut end[].

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