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Euphorbia tirucalli
Euphorbia tirucalli L., Euphorbiaceae, is a native Africa, but is naturalised in the drier parts of Bengal, Deccan, south India and is largely cultivated as a hedge plant. The plants attain the proportion of a small tree, the trunk reaching a girth of about six inches.
The species is easily recognised from its repeatedly branched, green, rather succulent, cylindrical pencil like stems (see the photograph). The plants are usually leaf less, but for a few small leaves at the tips of the branches (see photograph), but these leaves fall off soon. This is called the ‘cactoid habit’, due to which the species is often confused with the cacti. A small prick releases milky latex, which is absent in the cacti. See Euphorbia antiquorum, which is a similar species.
The latex is a vesicant, rubifacient, purgative, counter irritant, applied on warts, in rheumatism, neuralgia, toothache, cough, asthma and earache.
The latex induces ulceration of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane. It is dangerous to the eyes as it produces severe corneal inflammation.
The latex is a fish and rat poison.
Euphorbon and euphorone were isolated from the latex. The latex contains over 75 per cent of resin and about 15 per cent of rubber. The latex contains taraxasterol, tirucallol and euphol, the terpene alcohols. The fresh latex contains isoeuphorol, which is on drying is replaced by a ketone. The stem contains hentriacontane, hentriacontanol, b -sitosterol, taraxerol, 3,3’-di-o -methylellagic acid, ellagic acid and a glucoside that produces, on hydrolysis, kaempferol and glucose.
Alcoholic extracts of the aerial parts are anti-protozoal against Entamoeba hystolytica. Alcoholic and aqueous extracts of the stem reduce adenocaarcinoma and sarcoma considerably.