Calotropis procera

NAME:    Calotropis procera

FAMILY: Apocynaceae

COMMON NAMES: Giant milk weed, sodom apple, king's crown

LOCAL NAMES: Bomubomu, Tumfatiya, Faftan

MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION: This is a flowering plant growing up to 4m or more tall. It is a shrub a deep taproot, 3-4 m deep, and a secondary root system with woody lateral roots that may rapidly regenerate adventitious shoots when the plant is injured

USEFUL PART(s): Leaves, root, bark, latex

GENERAL USES:

  • The leaves have been used as a soup ingredient in sauces

  • The stems yield a fibre useful for making ropes, bags, nets and paper

  • Medicinal purpose

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

  • North Africa, tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia.

WHY IS IT GREEN?

  • Diarrhoea,

  • Dysentery

  • Elephantiasis

  • Leprosy

  • Chronic eczema

  • Ringworm

  • Cough

  • Diaphoretic

  • Emetic

  • Asthma

  • Abortifacient

  • Convulsion

  • Antipyretic.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • Calotropis extracts, chopped leaves, and latex have shown in vitro and in vivo nematicidal properties.

  • The milky sap of the plant is poisonous some of which are steroidal heart poisons known as "cardiac aglycones”

FUN FACT

  • Calotropis extracts, chopped leaves, and latex have shown in vitro and in vivo nematicidal properties

FURTHER READINGS

Chundattu, S. J., Agrawal, V. K., & Ganesh, N. (2016). Phytochemical investigation of Calotropis procera. Arabian Journal of Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2011.03.011

Hassan, L. M., Galal, T. M., Farahat, E. A., & El-Midany, M. M. (2015). The biology of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. In Trees - Structure and Function. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1158-7

Rayanatou, I. A., Mahamadou, E. H. G., Garric, G., Harel-Oger, M., Leduc, A., Jardin, J., Briard-Bion, V., Cauty, C., Adakal, H., Grongnet, J. F., & Gaucheron, F. (2017). Physico-chemical characterization of dairy gel obtained by a proteolytic extract from Calotropis procera – A comparison with chymosin. Food Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.04.039