Common Name:

General Information

Strychnos mostueoides is a shrub growing from 2 - 3 metres tall[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

Various parts of Strychnos plants, especially the seeds and bark, contain toxic alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine. The fleshy pulp of the ripe fruits, however, is often edible[].

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Medagascar.

Habitat

Forests near river banks, at elevations from sea-level up to 500 metres, exceptionally to 1,000 metres[, ].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	2.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the aerial parts is taken to treat malaria[].

Eight indole alkaloids have been identified from the root bark: normacusine B, caracusine VII, strychnofendlerine, spermostrychnine, strychnobrasiline, deacetylstrychnobrasiline, malagashine and malagashanine. Chemically normacusine B belongs to the corynanthean class of alkaloids, the other compounds belong to the strychnine class. Normacusine B is also found in Rauvolfia, Tabernaemontana and Vinca spp. It is sympatholytic and its hypotensive activity is stronger than that of reserpine, which is commonly used against high blood pressure[].
Malagashanine has been shown to have promising chemosensitizing activity against chloroquine-resistant strains of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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