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Derris elliptica
 Species identityEcology and distributionPropagation and managementFunctional usesPests and diseasesAdditional InfoBibliographyImages |
Species identity
TaxonomyCommon names
(Brunei) : tuba (Dusun, Malay)
(Burmese) : hon
(Cambodia) : k'biehs
(Filipino) : tuba root, tugling-pula (Tagalog)
(French) : touba
(Indonesian) : oyod tungkul (Javanese)
(Malay) : akar tuba
(Thai) : lai nam (northern)
(Vietnamese) : d[aa]y thu [oos]c c[as]
Botanic description
A liana up to 16 m long, root reddish-brown, apical shoots often leafless for several meter and rusty pubescent. Leaflets 7-15, mostly densely rusty hairy on both surfaces when young. Inflorescences axillary or fascicled on older branches; flowers with rusty pubescent calyx and pinkish corolla, standard with basal callosities, rusty silky hairy. Fruit oblong or oblong-elliptical, with a narrow wing along both sides.
Ecology and distribution
History of cultivationD. elliptica is cultivated e.g. in India, southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, tropical Africa and America.
Natural Habitat
D. elliptica is commonly found in forest edges, roadsides and along rivers, in Java up to 1500 m altitude. D. elliptica may occur as weeds in forest plantations of Acacia, Eucalyptus and Swietenia. D. elliptica can survive dry periods of up to 4 months. This species is often confined to low altitudes.
Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, Thailand, the Nicobar Islands and Malesia (apparently not wild in Borneo, Sulawesi and the Moluccas). D. elliptica is cultivated e.g. in India, southern China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, tropical Africa and America.
Biophysical limitsAltitude: Up to 1500 m.
Reproductive Biology
D. elliptica may start flowering at 18 months of age. Wild plants flower and fruit normally. Pods ripen about 4 months after fertilization. In cultivation fruiting is rare.
Propagation and management
Propagation methodsIn tests in the Philippines, tissue culture of D. elliptica was found to be not viable due to low explant decontamination, retarded shoot regeneration for alcohol propagation and unsuccesful shoot regeneration from calli. Tissue culture to obtain rotenoids appears to be rather difficult. When leaves of D. elliptica were used for callus induction, only trace amounts of rotenoids (3 microgram/g on dry weight basis) were detected in the tissue subcultured for 4 months. Rotenoids biosynthesis decreased with frequent subcultures of callus tissue, was finally lost. Callus with imperfectly differentiated rootlets induced from the leaves or stems by regulating plant hormones contained rotenoids which were identified as rotenone and deguelin. The rotenone content was 160 microgram/g on dry weight basis. In other experiments in the Philippines root regeneration from calli induced from internodes, nodes and axillary buds of D. elliptica was obtained 3-5 weeks after inoculation on Shenck and Hildebrandt's medium supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid. Using Durham's test for rotenone, 60-100% of the calli and regenerated roots showed a positive reaction.Functional uses
ProductsPoison: D. elliptica is used as a fish poison throughout southern Asia and the Pacific. The pounded root is considered the strongest fish poison in South-East Asia. Rotenone is used in fisheries in the Philippines, Bangladesh and India to remove predatory and other undesired fish from rearing pods. An extract from the roots of D. elliptica is reported to be employed as an ingredient of arrow poison in Borneo. The powdered root of D. elliptica is widely used as an insecticide. Medicine: D. elliptica is traditionally used for antisepsis and applied to abscesses and against leprosy and itch, and sometimes as an abortifacient. In Thailand, the roots are also used as emmenagogue and the stems as a blood tonic.Pests and diseasesDiseases: Some fungal diseases are reported to damage planted D. elliptica: a rust (Ustilago derrides), a Gloeosporium sp. That causes the shoots tips to die, and an unidentified fungal disease that attacks cuttings in nursery beds. Pests: Pests are not serious and are easily controlled.
Additional Information
PropertiesMedicine: Studies have been performed with cultured cells in order to more fully characterize the bioactive potential of rotenone. Intense cytotoxic activity was observed in lymphocytic leukaemia, carcinoma of the nasopharynx, and a number of human cancer cells, e.g. fibrosarcoma, lung cancer, colon cancer, malnoma and breast cancer cell lines. Thus, rotenone has been evaluated as a potential antitumour agent. The growth-inhibiting effect has been demonstrated both with cultured cells and experimental tumours. Rotenone is broadly cytotoxic, but no cell-type specificity has been discerned. Roots of D. elliptica contains the rotenoid elliptinol and tubaic acid (0.01% of air-dried root). The latter compound showed anti-microbial activity, inhibiting the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at high concentrations. Other tests, however, showed no antibacterial activity of D. elliptica decoctions or macerations. Several amino acids (e.g. related to pipecolic acid) have been isolated from its leaves, and also the amino-alcohol 2,5-dihydroxymethyl-3,4-dihydroxypyrrolidine (0.1% of fresh leaves). Compounds with a pyrrolidine ring structure might be of pharmacological interest, since some of them are known to have adrenolytic and vasodilating properties. Other related compounds have been found to possess antibacterial activity. Poison: Rotenone-free extracts of D. elliptica, obtained by chloroform extraction and thermal heating were found to be still toxic to snails, but not to fish. The LC-50 value for roots of D. elliptica for catfish in Bangladesh was 64-115 ppm. The toxicant in the root powder had completely detoxified in 6-7 days. Root powder is effective for eradicating predatory fishes in fish pods at 5 ppm in fresh water and at 10-30 ppm in brackish water. The leaves of D. elliptica are said to be poisonous enough to kill cattle. Adulterations and substitutes: Rotenoids are also obtained from the roots of other legumes such as Lonchocarpus, Millettia, Piscidia and Tephrosia spp. Other insecticides of plant origin used in South-East Asia are present in seeds of Croton tiglium L., stem and roots of Tinospora spp., leaves of Vitex negundo L., Nicotiana tabacum L. and Azadirachta indica A.H.L. Juss. They are also found in leaves, fruits and bark of Melia azedarach L., whole plants of Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trev.) Schultz-Bip., Tagetes spp. and Lantana spp., and in leaves, roots and seeds of Annona squamosa L. As a fungicide, star anise (Illicium verum Hook.f.) is more effective. Other piscicidal plants include Croton tiglium, Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. and Sapindus saponaria L.
Yields
Yield: The yield of dried D. elliptica roots is 1100-1800 kg/ha, occasionally up to 3000 kg/ha, particularly when plants are trellised.
Genetic
Genetic resources and breeding: Wild plants of D. elliptica vay widely but have a low rotenone content (about 0.5%), whereas the cultivated plants vary little but have a high rotenone content (12-13%). Collections of both provenances are available. Hybrids between D. elliptica and D. malaccensis have shown promising results. Breeding trials have been hampered by the almost total self-incompability of most cultivars of D. elliptica.