This name is not universally accepted. We are following the treatment in GRIN; Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 125:48. 2012, but the name Heliotropium ovalifolium Forssk., is still also widely used[].

Common Name:

General Information

Euploca ovalifolia is a much-branched, erect or decumbent, herbaceous annual to perennial plant, sometimes with a woody base; it can grow up to 90cm tall[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.

Known Hazards

Cases of poisoning of sheep and goat in Sudan have been reported, and a fatal liver disease of horses in Australia has been attributed to Euploca ovalifolia as well[].
In southern Africa Euploca ovalifolia is suspected to be the cause of the ‘floppy trunk syndrome’, a lethal affliction in elephants[].
In Nigeria, the plant is considered to be poisonous, causing diarrhoea and vomiting[].
No specific reports have been seen for this species, but many members of this plant family (Boraginaceae) are known to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These alkaloids have a cumulative effect upon the body and, unless concentrations in a plant are high, occasional use is generally completely safe. They are derived from amino acids including ornithine. Many pyrrolizidine alkaloids have pronounced hepatic toxicity, but the lungs and other organs may be affected as well. Mutagenic and carcinogenic activities of pyrrolizidine alkaloids have also been reported[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical and subtropical Africa - widespread in drier areas; E. Asia - Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Indonesia to N. Australia, Solomon Islands.

Habitat

Occurs in diverse habitats, though drier places are preferred in general[]. In grasslands, floodplains, edges of swamps, riverbanks, roadsides and waste grounds, mainly on sandy or muddy soils; at elevations up to 1,300 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant may flower throughout the year[]. The flowering season is long and new flowers develop apically within the cyme while mature nutlets are already present at its base[]. Heliotropium ovalifolium can behave as a pioneer species and stays green well into the dry season[]

Edible Uses

In Kenya, the leaves are chewed as a substitute for tobacco[].

Medicinal

The plant is used as a treatment against syphilis, taken internally as a strong purgative and externally as a topical application to the affected areas. It is reported to have analgesic properties and is applied in the form of hot poultices to treat severe pain[, ]. The dried plant is mixed with butter and the mixture is smeared thickly over painful places during fever[]. In both Ethiopia and Tanzania it is applied to scorpion stings[].

The alkaloids retronecine, helifoline and heliotropamide have been isolated from the plant[].
Helifoline has been reported to show in vivo and in vitro ganglion-blocking activity[].
Retronecine (the amino-ethanol moiety of many pyrrolizidine alkaloids but without the ester-part) and helifoline (a 1,2-saturated retronecine analogue) are expected not to be hepatotoxic[].
Supinine (a pyrrolizidine alkaloid), and heliophenanthrone (a phenanthrone derivative), as well as the benzoquinones heliotropinone A and B have been isolated from the aerial parts of the plant. Both quinones have exhibited antifungal and antibacterial properties[].
The alkaloid heliotropamide did not show any antifungal or antibacterial activity nor did it show any radical-scavenging activity[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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