Abrus precatorius

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Crab's Eye
Abrus precatorius pods.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Genus:
Abrus
Species:
A. precatorius
Binomial name
Abrus precatorius
L., 1753

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Abrus precatorius, known commonly as jequirity,[1] Crab's eye,[1] rosary pea,[1] precatory pea or bean,[1] John Crow Bead,[2] Indian licorice,[1] Akar Saga, gidee gidee[1] or Jumbie bead[1] in Trinidad & Tobago,[3] is a slender, perennial climber that twines around trees, shrubs, and hedges. It is a legume with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves.

The plant is best known for its seeds, which are used as beads and in percussion instruments, and which are toxic due to the presence of Abrin. The plant is native to India and grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world where it has been introduced. It has a tendency to become weedy and invasive where it has been introduced.

Ecology and invasiveness

Abrus precatorius is a severely invasive plant in warm temperate to tropical regions, so much so that it has become effectively pantropical in distribution. It had been widely introduced by humans, and the brightly coloured and hard-shelled seeds had been spread by birds. By the end of the twentieth century, it had been proclaimed as an invasive weed in many regions including some in Belize, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, Polynesia and parts of the mainland United States. In Florida in particular, the plant has invaded undisturbed pinelands and hammocks, including the vulnerable pine rocklands.

Once Abrus precatorius plants have grown to maturity under favourable conditions, their deep roots are extremely difficult to remove, and the plants' aggressive growth, hard-shelled seeds, and ability to sucker, renders an infestation extremely difficult to eradicate and makes it very difficult to prevent re-infestation. Herbicides such as glyphosate are effective, but need skilled application if they are not to do more harm than good.[4]

Toxin

The toxin abrin is a dimer consisting of two protein subunits, termed A and B. The B chain facilitates abrin's entry into a cell by bonding to certain transport proteins on cell membranes, which then transport the toxin into the cell. Once inside the cell, the A chain prevents protein synthesis by inactivating the 26S subunit of the ribosome. One molecule of abrin will inactivate up to 1,500 ribosomes per second.

Symptoms are identical to those of ricin, except abrin is more toxic by almost two orders of magnitude; the fatal dose of abrin is approximately 1/75th that of the fatal dose of ricin (though the abrin in ingested seeds may be absorbed much more slowly than the ricin in Ricinus communis even if the seeds are chewed and the coat penetrated, allowing time for successful rescue efforts in at least some cases.[5]) Abrin has an LD50 of only 0.56 μg/kg in mice, and Kingsbury lists a toxic dose in humans at 0.00015% body weight, or approximately 0.1 mg for a 150 lb human.[6] Ingesting intact seeds may result in no clinical findings, as they can pass undigested through the gastrointestinal tract due to their hard shell.[7]

Abrus precatorius, called kundu mani in Tamil and Guruvinda ginja in Telugu, has been used in Siddha medicine for centuries. The Tamil Siddhars knew about the toxic effects in plants and suggested various methods which is called "suththi seythal" or purification. This is done by boiling the seeds in milk and then drying them. The protein is denatured when subjected to high temperatures which removes its toxicity.[8]

In March 2012 a recall was issued for bracelets made using Jequirity Beans sold by the Eden Project and other outlets in the UK.[9]

This plant is also poisonous to horses.[10]

Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, convulsions, liver failure, and death, usually after several days. The seeds are used as beads in jewelry, which is probably unwise, mainly because young children are unfortunately drawn to the attractive beans and may suck or chew on them.

There are persistent reports that the workers who pierce the seeds in order to thread them...can suffer poisoning or even death from a pinprick, but there seems to be little evidence. An online search found 265 scientific papers referring to Abrus precatorius but not one of them dealt with occupational poisoning.[11]

Uses

The bright red seeds of A. precatorius are strung as jewellery.

The seeds of Abrus precatorius are much valued in native jewelry for their bright coloration. Most beans are black and red, suggesting a ladybug, though other colors are available. Jewelry-making with jequirity seeds is somewhat hazardous.

In Trinidad in the West Indies the brightly colored seeds are strung into bracelets and worn around the wrist or ankle to ward off jumbies or evil spirits and "mal-yeux" - the evil eye. The Tamils use Abrus seeds of different colors. The red variety with black eye is the most common, but there are black, white and green varieties as well.

The seeds of Abrus precatorius are very consistent in weight. Formerly Indians used these seeds to weigh gold using a measure called a Ratti, where 8 Ratti = 1 Masha; 12 Masha = 1 Tola (11.6 Grams).[citation needed]

Traditional medicine

In Siddha medicine, the white variety is used to prepare oil that is claimed to be an aphrodisiac.[12] A tea is made from the leaves and used for fevers, coughs and colds.[3] Seeds are poisonous and therefore are used after mitigation.[13]

The plant is also used in Ayurveda[14] and is said to promote hair growth. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in Indian hair products.

Laboratory study of extracts

A variety of pharmacological effects have been observed in rodents, but have not been demonstrated clinically in humans, including:

Names

Abrus precatorius has different names in various Indian and other languages.[20]

Cultural significance

In Rajasthan, India Chirmi song is associated with this plant.

Gallery

  • Abrus precatorius - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-002.jpg

    Abrus precatorius from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants

  • AbrusWhiteSeeds.jpg

    White variety of seeds.

  • Abrus precatorius W IMG 1578.jpg

    Abrus precatorius leaves & flowers

  • Abrus precatorius W2 IMG 1578.jpg

    Abrus precatorius flowers

  • IndianLicorice 7899.JPG

    Abrus precatorius seeds

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mendes (1986), p. 79.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/abrus_precatorius.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/canadian-poisonous-plants-information-system/all-plants-scientific-name/abrus-precatorius/?id=1370403266739%7C Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility website, Home → Species Bank → Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System → All Plants (Scientific Name)→ Abrus precatorius --- math was used to determine 0.1mg/150lb datapoint based on 0.00015% body weight datapoint
  7. ↑ Jang D.H., Hoffman R.S., Lewis L.S. "Attempted suicide, by mail order: Abrus precatorius".Clinical Toxicology. Conference: 2010 International Congress of the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists Bordeaux France. Conference Start: 20100511 Conference End: 20100514. Conference Publication: (var.pagings). 48 (3) (pp 308),
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/abrus_precatorius.htm
  12. ↑ Raamachandran, J. "Herbs of Siddha medicines: The First 3D Book on Herbs", page 2.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Kekuda TR, Vinayaka KS, Soumya KV, Ashwini SK, Kiran R. Antibacterial and antifungal activity of methanolic extract of Abrus pulchellus Wall and Abrus precatorius Linn: A comparative study. Int J Toxicol Pharmacol Res. 2010;2:26–9.
  19. ↑ Sudipta Roy, Rabinarayan Acharya, Narayan C. Mandal,1 Soma Barman, Ranjan Ghosh, and Rajiv Roy. A comparative antibacterial evaluation of raw and processed Guñjā (Abrus precatorius Linn.) seeds. Anc Sci Life. 2012 Jul-Sep; 32(1): 20–23.
  20. ↑ Dr. K. M. Nadkarni's Indian Materia Medica, Volume 1, Edited by A. K. Nadkarni, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1976, pp. 5.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

More References

  • Mendes, John (1986). Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary. Arima, Trinidad.

External links

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