Croton tiglium L. Family: Euphorbiaceae
Synonyms: Croton acutus Thunb., Croton birmanicus Mull.Arg., Croton camaia Perr., Croton himalaicus D.G.Long, Croton jamalgota Buch.-Ham., Croton muricatus Blanco [Illegitimate], Croton officinalis (Klotzsch) Alston, Croton pavana Buch.-Ham., Halecus verus Raf., Kurkas tiglium (L.) Raf., Oxydectes birmanica (Mull.Arg.) Kuntze, Oxydectes blancoana Kuntze, Oxydectes pavana (Buch.-Ham.) Kuntze, Oxydectes tiglium (L.) Kuntze, Tiglium cumingii Klotzsch, Tiglium lanceolatum Klotzsch, Tiglium officinale Klotzsch, Tiglium pubescens Klotzsch, Tiglium subincanum Klotzsch
- Arabic: Habusalateen, Batu, Dand, Datun, Batu.
- Assamese: Koneeveha. Burm.– Kanako. Oriya– Jaipalo, Joyopalo, Konika.
- Persisan: Bedanjirekhatai, Tukhmebedaajirkhatai, Dund, Habbekhatai.
- Konkani: Japal
- Sinhalese– Jayapala.
- Khasi– Chicoc
- Garo– Runibih.
- Canarese: Danti, Japala, Nepala
- Chinese– Pa Teou, Pa Tou
- Malaya– Bori
- Sanskrit : Mukula, Tintiphala, Jayapala, Dravanti
- Assamese : Kanibish
- Bengali : Jaipala, Patabahar,
- English : Croton
- Gujarati : Nepalo, Jamalagota, Nepala
- Hindi : Jamalgota, Patabahar
- Kannada : Nepal, Japal beej, Japala, Nervala
- Malayalam : Nervalam, Neervalam
- Marathi : Jepal, Japal
- Punjabi : Japolota
- Tamil : Nervalam, Neervalam, Valam
- Telugu : Nepalam
- Urdu : Jamalgota
Ayurvedic uses: Jvara, Udararoga, Vibandha [APC Part-I, Vil-II]
Purging croton or croton oil plant, a small evergreen tree with separate male and female flowers, is one among the seven poisons described in Ayurveda. The drug is well known for its drastic purgative property. The drug is found to be useful in ascites, anasarca, cold, cough, asthma, constipation, calculus, dropsy, fever and enlargement of the abdominal viscera. The seed paste is a good application for skin diseases, painful swellings and alopacia. The seed-oil is useful in chronic bronchitis, laryngeal affections, arthritis and lock jaw. Misraka-sneham is an important preparation using the drug .
Chemistry: Oil contains phorbol myristate acetate ( Husain et al, 1992). Seeds contain upto 20% protein and 30-50% lipids. Iso-guanine-D-ribose (crotoniside) and saccharose were isolated from the seeds. In fractionation of croton oil, liquid-liquid distribution procedures proved to be the separation tools of choice. The per hydrogenated parent hydrocarbon of phorbol is a perhydrocyclopropabenzulene called tigliane and phorbol is 1, 1aa, 1bb, 4, 4a, 7aa, 7b, 8, 9, 9a-decahydro-4ab, 7a, 9b, 9aa- tetrahydroxy-3-(hydroxymethyl)-1, 1, 6, 8a tetramethyl-5-H-cyclopropa[3,4] benz [1.2-e]azulen-5- one. Phorbol, a tetracylic diterpene with a 5, 7, 6 and 3- membered ring has 6 oxygen functions. Phorbol accounts for 3.4% and 4- deoxy- 4a- phorbol for 0.29% of the weight of croton oil. Twentyfive phorbol-12, 13-diesters have been detected (Hecker et al, 1974). A toxin croton 1, mol. wt 72,000 has been isolated from the seeds. [Medicinal Plants, Published by Kerala Agricultural University]
Root is beneficial in dropsy, lead poisoning, cerebral haemorrhage or convulsions and congestions, apoplexy, intestinal obstructions, gout, rheumatism, arthritis, lock jaw, mania, chronic laryngitis, bronchitis and to increase manly vigour (Nadkarni, 1976). Croton seeds are used as a drastic and violent purgative in conditions like apoplexy, insanity and convulsions attended with high blood pressure. The expressed oil from the seed is given in paralysis and painful affections of joints and limbs. The oil from the seed is purgative, carminative, useful in diseases of the abdomen, mental troubles, fever and inflammations. Siddha uses: Used in treatment Vatha disorders, Skin diseases and in alopecia. [Database on Medicinal Plants Used In Ayurveda Volume 8]
Activities — Abortifacient, Carminative, Cocarcinogen, Diaphoretic, Emetic, Emmenagogue, Irritant, Insecticide, Laxative, Nephrotoxic, Piscicide, Rubefacient, Tonic .
Indications — Bite, Bronchosis, Cancer, Cancer, brain, Cholecystosis, Colic, Conjunctivosis, Constipation, Convulsion, Dermatosis, Eczema, Edema, Encephalosis, Enterosis, Fever, Gastrosis, Inflammation, Insanity, Malaria, Mastosis, Pain, Pulmonosis, Snakebite, Sore, Sore Throat, Stomachache, Vertigo, Worm. [Hand Book of Medicinal Herbs Second Ed., James A. Duke]
Cathartic, rubefacient, irritant. Used in ascites, anasarca, dropsy and enlargement of abdominal viscera. [Indian Medicinal Plants An Illustrated Dictionary]
Uses: The sap of Croton tiglium L. is well-known to be a violent laxative. In Malaysia, the Kenyah of Sarawak crush the ripe fruits with a little ash to poison fish, whereas the Chinese of Pangkor apply crushed leaves on bruises. Ibn Sina calls the seeds dand-el-sini, suggesting its introduction from China via caravan routes through Central Asia. Croton tiglium L. was first described by Christoval Acosta in 1578. In Western medicine, the oil expressed from the seeds of Croton tiglium L. (Croton oil; Oleum Tiglii, British Pharmaceutical Codex, 1949) has been used to treat very severe constipation and externally to produce skin irritation (dose: 0.03mL to 0.06 mL). [Medicinal Plants of The Aisa-Pacific: Drugs for The Future]
51 Published articles of Croton tiglium
