''Dorstenia contrajerva'' is a plant species in the family

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

. It is native to Northern South America and Central America, and is cultivated elsewhere. The species name "contrajerva" is the Latinized form of the plant's Spanish name, "contrahierba," a name for plants used for treating poisoning and venomous bites and stings, and for which its rootstocks are used in folk medicine (as

contrayerva Contrayerva, or contrajerva, is the medicinal rhizome of various tropical Central American and South American species of ''Dorstenia'' in the family Moraceae, mainly '' Dorstenia contrajerva'' and the closely related '' Dorstenia drakena'' but al ...

). It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

of the Dorstenia genus and was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1753.

Description

''Dorstenia contrajerva'' is a small evergreen perennial plant with a creeping rhizome from which emerges a rosette of leaves with long petioles. Leaves are variably shaped, with plants with lobed and unlobed leaves co-occurring in the same populations. Leaves are up to 20 cm long on petioles up to 25 cm long. When damaged the plant exudes a white latex. Tiny male and female flowers are distributed intermixed on a discoid receptacle of convoluted shape. The fruits are small and contained in a quadrangular container. The tiny seeds are explosively expelled. Plants acaulescent or nearly so. The stems, if any, are very short and covered with persistent petiole bases. Leaves are often very numerous and crowded.

Stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s persistent; petiole 8–25 cm. Leaf blade long-petiolate, oblong-ovate, deltate-ovate, or orbiculate, entire or deeply

pinnately Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

or almost palmately lobed, 6-20 × 7–22 cm, sparsely scabrous or pubescent. The lobes acute to acuminate, narrow or broad.

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s: receptacle flat, curved, or undulate, quadrangular or irregularly lobed, accrescent in age and 2–5 cm. wide, scaberulous beneath. On long slender peduncle, 7–25 cm. Drupes somewhat globose, 0.25–1 cm in diameter. Seeds yellowish. 2 n = 30. In the ''United States Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary'' (1927), the rhizome of ''Dorstenia contrajerva'' or ''Contrayera'' is described as fusiform, 1–2 headed, 5–7.5 cm long, 12 mm thick, reddish, with an unpleasant odor and acrid, bitter taste.

Distribution

''Dorstenia contrajerva'' is native to southern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the Caribbean and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

including

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It is cultivated in Indonesia (Java) and Malaysia (Malacca), and locally in Africa and South America. In North America ''Dorstenia contrajerva'' has been introduced to Florida and is a weed in greenhouses and nurseries. It is sometimes cultivated as a house plant. Dorstenia contrajerva leaves flower

Habitat

It grows in shady places in disturbed vegetation in mangroves, savannahs, thickets, and tropical forests.

Cultivation

''Dorstenia contrajerva'' requires part to full shade and a rich soil that should be kept moist but not saturated. Fertilize weekly using a balanced fertilizer diluted to half of the recommended strength. It can become very weedy if the old receptacles are not picked off. The seeds are very viable and germinate on any soil. Repotting can be done at any time of the year. Easily propagated from seed or by division. Fresh seed will germinate in 7 to 14 days.

Use in traditional medicine

In folk medicine in Honduras, the boiled root is used for diarrhea, dysentery, and stomach ache. The slightly roasted and ground root is used to treat intestinal worms and parasites. The crushed root is mixed with water to treat the bites of snakes. In Nicaragua the boiled root is used to prevent diarrhea; minced raw rhizomes are used to treat diarrhea, sickness, stomach upset, indigestion, and worms. In El Salvador it is used for stomachache and to prevent vomiting. In Costa Rica the boiled root is used for diarrhea, and an infusion to lower fever. It is considered useful for diarrhea as well as an emmenagogue. In Mexico the latex is used to heal wounds and the inflorescences are given to teething children. In the Amazon region of Peru it is used as a tonic, against gangrene, and as an antidote for bee and wasp stings. In Argentina, the whole plant is used to treat snakebite. In Venezuela it is used as a sudorific and as a cure for dysentery. ''Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants of Latin America'' lists the following medicinal activities: alexiteric, anti-HIV, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenaggogue, febrifuge, leihmanicide, orexigenic, stimulant, tonic. The ''United States Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary'' of 1927 says that the root of this plant was used for low fevers, typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, serpent bites; in decoction, tincture.

Maud Grieve Maud Grieve in 1928 Sophie Emma Magdalene Grieve (née Law; 4 May 1858 – 21 December 1941) also known as Maud, Margaret, Maude or Mrs. Grieve, was the principal and founder of The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School and Farm at Chal ...

writes in her ''Modern Herbal'' (1931) that

given as a powder or decoction is a “

Stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...

, tonic, and

diaphoretic Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distri ...

; given in cases of low fevers, typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea, and other illnesses needing a stimulant.” In folk medicine it is used to treat bites of poisonous animals. The first description of this plant and its medical usage in Mexico is said to have been made by the Spanish naturalist and physician

Francisco Hernández de Toledo Francisco Hernández de Toledo (1514 in La Puebla de Montalbán, Toledo – 28 January 1587 in Madrid) was a naturalist and court physician to the King of Spain. Hernández was among the first wave of Spanish Renaissance physicians practicing accor ...

in the 16th century: “The herb called Tozpàtli has a round root about the size of a hazelnut, with thin fibrous roots, and of an azure color, from which are born delicate petioles, on which are curved leaves, almost similar to those of the

Polypodium ''Polypodium'' is a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Polypodioideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest ...

, but smaller and more green. It is said that it carries no flower at all. It grows in high and flat, but hot places. The root is sharp and fragrant to taste, hot and dry almost in the fourth degree, and of subtle parts. This herb cures rashes/eruptions (''empeynes''), boils, whitlow, and also the so-called French illness (''mal frances'' = syphilis), and clears up tumors and abscesses. The root applied externally or taken by the mouth alleviates many diseases that can be easily understood using the Method … considering the qualities and properties described (above). Finally, this is an important and noteworthy plant, without which our apothecaries cannot do without, and so those who spend in them.” . In the entry “Contra-yerva” in Chambers '' Cyclopedia'' of 1728, it is said that its root “brought from Peru” is “esteem'd an Alexiterial, and a sovereign Antidote against Poison.” It also says that the root and the recipe Lapis Contrayerva (see below) are of great efficacy in smallpox, measles, fevers and in “all Cases where either a Diaphoresis or Perspiration is required.” The 18th–19th century Spanish Mexican physician and botanist

Vicente Cervantes Vicente (Vincente) de Cervantes (Ledrada, Salamanca España; 1755 - México; 1829) was a notable Spanish and Mexican physician and botanist. Background Don Vicente Cervantes was a contemporary of Martín Sessé y Lacasta and corresponded with Je ...

describes it as: "a plant with an aromatic smell, an acrid taste, somewhat bitter and persistent. Its virtue is stimulating, tonic and diaphoretic, it is recommended in putrid or adynamic fevers."

Other uses

In North America powder made from the rootstocks and leaves is mixed with tobacco for improving the taste of cigarettes.

Chemical constituents

The ''United States Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary'' (1927) states that the root of ''Dorstenia contrajerva'' contains contrayerbine (contrajervin, a

peptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. ...

), cajapine, volatile oil,

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

, a bitter principle, and

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

. A 2016 study isolated the following 11 compounds from ''Dorstenia contrajerva'': dorsjervin A, dorsjervin B,

psoralen Psoralen (also called psoralene) is the parent compound in a family of naturally occurring organic compounds known as the linear furanocoumarins. It is structurally related to coumarin by the addition of a fused furan ring, and may be considered ...

, dorstenin,

squalene Squalene is an organic compound. It is a triterpenoid with the formula C30H50. It is a colourless oil, although impure samples appear yellow. It was originally obtained from shark liver oil (hence its name, as '' Squalus'' is a genus of sharks). ...

, γ-sitosterol, cycloartocarpesin, 1-O-linolenoyl-2-O-stearoyl-3-O-ß-D-galactopyranosyl glycerol,

bergapten Bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen) is a naturally-occurring organic chemical compound produced by numerous plant species, especially from the carrot family Apiaceae and the citrus family Rutaceae. For example, bergapten has been extracted from 24 ...

, dorsteniol, and xanthoarnol. The

cardenolide A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycosid ...

syriogenin was isolated from the root.

Vernacular names

* English: snakewort, tusilla * French: herbe aux serpents, racine de charchis * German: bezoarwurz, schlangenwurz * Spanish: contra de cobra, contrahierba, barbudilla (Mexico), hierba de sapo, higuerilla (Argentina), mano de leon (Venezuela) *

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

: tozpatli, tuzpatli Díaz, J.L. ''Índice y sinonimia de las plantas medicinales de México'', Instituto Mexicano para el Estudio de las Plantas Medicinales. Editorial Libros de México
1976

Pictures

Image: Dorstenia contrajerva 04.jpg Image: Dorstenia contrajerva kz1.jpg Image: Dorstenia contrajerva kz3.jpg Image: Dorstenia contrajerva-flowers-leaves.jpg Image: Dorstenia contrajerva by Stroobant.jpg Image: Flore médicale des Antilles, ou, Traité des plantes usuelles (Pl. 207) (8182110630).jpg Image: Flora medica, oder, Abbildung der wichtigsten officinellen Pflanzen (Pl. 148) (6032003689).jpg Image: Album de la flora médico-farmacéutica é industrial, indígena y exótica (Pl. 60) (8157649369).jpg Image: Naturalis Biodiversity Center - L.2096828 - Anoniem - Dorstenia contrajerva - Artwork.jpeg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1245333 contrajerva Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Mexico Flora of Guatemala Flora of Belize Flora of El Salvador Flora of Honduras Flora of Nicaragua Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Panama Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Saint Martin (island) and Saint Barthélemy Flora of Guadeloupe Flora of Martinique Flora of Grenada Flora of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Flora of Colombia Flora of Venezuela Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Flora of Ecuador Flora of Peru Flora without expected TNC conservation status