Common Name: Brown Strophanthus

General Information

Brown strophanthus is a deciduous shrub that sometimes only grows up to 5 metres tall but more commonly becomes a very large climbing plant with stems that can be 30 metres or more long, climbing to the tops of the surrounding trees[]. The stems can be up to 6cm in diameter[].
The plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and also to supply compounds for the pharmaceutical industry. It is sometimes cultivated for these purposes, both within and outside its native range[].

Known Hazards

Although used medicinally, all parts of the plant are deadly poisonous[].
The juice is used as an arrow poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Uganda and Tanzania, south to Angola.

Habitat

Primary and secondary moist forest, or in woodland on rocky outcrops or in thickets, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,600 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Climber
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

If pruned regularly, rooted branches will develop in a few years into a thick shrub or small tree, producing more fruits than wild plants[].
In areas with distinct dry and rainy seasons, the plant flowers towards the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season; fruits are mature in the dry season[].

Edible Uses

The young leaves are made into a tasty sauce, which is also restorative[]. Some caution is advised - see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal

Although poisonous, this plant has a long history of medical use in Africa. More recently, it has come to the attention of modern medicine as a source of cardio-active alkaloids which are extracted from the seeds and used as a heart stimulant and for their influence on blood circulation, especially in cases of chronic heart weakness[].

The seeds are cardiac and diuretic[].
The glycosides extracted from the seeds (‘Semen strophanthi’) are used in a number of modern medicines in several European countries, the United States, Argentina and Chile as a rapid cardiac and vascular stimulant[].

Decoctions of the roots, or sometimes of the pulped root bark, stem bark or leaves, are used internally to treat parasites, malaria, dysentery and gonorrhoea[]. A root decoction is taken to treat rheumatic afflictions[].
The root decoction is applied externally to treat skin diseases, leprosy and ulcers[].

A decoction of the bark or leaf sap is taken as an antidote against the effects of snakebites[].
A decoction of the bark is dripped into the eye to treat conjunctivitis[].

A leaf and stem decoction is taken as a laxative or to treat fever[]
The sap from crushed leaves or young shoots is applied to kill head-lice and other parasites[]. The leaf and stem decoction is applied externally to sores[].

A large number of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) have been isolated from the plant. These glycosides, collectively called strophanthins, are most abundant in the seed (which contain 4 - 8%), and are responsible for the activity in arrow poison as well as being cardiac and vascular stimulants. In comparison with Digitalis cardenolides, they are characterized by highly oxygenated aglycones[].
The sole official use of Strophanthus drugs in medicine is for their influence on the circulation, especially in cases of chronic heart weakness. As the action is similar to that of Digitalis glycosides, although more likely to cause digestive disturbances and diarrhoea, Strophanthus drugs are often useful as an alternative or adjuvant[].
Some believe that Strophanthus glycosides have a direct stimulating effect upon the kidney and are superior to Digitalis glycosides as a diuretic, but the evidence in favour of this view is far from convincing[].
While they possess some local anaesthetic powers, they are so highly irritant that it is not practical to use it for this effect[].
An aqueous leaf extract showed a dose-related delay of blood clotting due to the venom of the saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus), thus inhibiting the effect of its bite[]. This venom causes rapid intra-arterial clotting of blood, resulting in death in small animals, while death in larger animals and in man occurs due to depletion of fibrinogen reserves and internal haemorrhage[].
Extracts of Strophanthus hispidus showed significant anti-inflammatory activity against acute inflammation[].
The extracts of both the roots and leaves showed in-vitro inhibition of the bacteria Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Strains of the pathogens with laboratory induced resistance against certain antibiotics were also sensitive to the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Strophanthus hispidus[].

Other Uses

The stems stripped from their bark are used in Nigeria for the end pieces of reed screens, and for cotton-carding bows[].

Propagation

Seed -
Branches up to 1 metre long root quickly when they are stuck in the ground[].

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