Croton tiglium L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 67-68

Croton tiglium L.

Names.

Myanmar: kanakho, mai-hkang.

Range.

Temperate and tropical Asia. Can be cultivated in the hot and humid parts of Myanmar, to altitudes of 610 m.

Uses.

Seed: Bitter, used to stimulate appetite; correct imbalances in phlegm and gas; prevent jaundice, fainting, and facial paralysis; also taken as a laxative to rid the body of impurities. Ground seed paste is applied to scorpion stings to neutralize the venom. A mixture of oil from the seeds and ginger juice is used as medicine for whooping cough in children. One part of their oil is mixed with eight parts of coconut oil and used as a rub for aching joints. The oil can also be used for stomach disorders, hypertension, fevers, inflammation, infections, and diseases of the throat and ear.

Notes.

The medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Medicinal uses of this species in China are discussed in Duke and Ayensu (1985). The species is important medicinally and economically since the seeds yield croton oil, a powerful purgative ( Bailey and Bailey 1976). Perry (1980) discusses the uses of the species on the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and in the Himalayas. She also notes that all parts of the plant are somewhat poisonous; especially the seeds and oil, which are also used in a fish and arrow poison.

Chemical work done on the seeds and oil "reveals two active principles, one purgative but with non-irritant properties, the other (resin) irritant or vesicant". The oil also contains oleic, linolic, arachidic, myristic, stearic, palmitic, acetic and formic acids, with traces of lauric, tiglic, valeric and butyric acids. The kernel, in addition, contains two toxic proteins, croton-globulin and carton-albumin; sucrose; and a glycoside, crotonoside. "The glycoside, at least in small doses, has no harmful physiological action." The leaves contain hydrogen cyanide and a triterpinoid ( Perry 1980).

References.

Agricultural Corporation (1980), Forest Department (1999).