View source for Biology:Boerhavia diffusa

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Boerhavia diffusa.jpg
|image_caption =
|genus = Boerhavia
|species = diffusa
|authority = [[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|L.]] ''[[Biology:Conserved name|nom. cons.]]''<ref name=grin/>
}}

'''''Boerhavia diffusa''''' is a species of flowering plant in the [[Biology:Nyctaginaceae|four o'clock family]] which is commonly known as '''punarnava''' (meaning that which rejuvenates or renews the body in [[Philosophy:Ayurveda|Ayurveda]]),<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bhowmik Debjit |author2=Kumar K. P. Sampath |author3=Srivastava Shweta |author4=Paswan Shravan |author5=Sankar Amit |author6=Dutta Dutta | year = 2012 | title = Traditional Indian Herbs: Punarnava and Its Medicinal Importance | url = http://www.phytojournal.com/vol1Issue1/Issue_may_2012/5.pdf | journal = Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry | volume = 1 | issue = 1| pages = 52–57 }}</ref> '''red spiderling''',<ref name=grin/> '''spreading hogweed''',<ref name=grin/> or '''tarvine'''.<ref name=grin/> It is taken in [[Medicine:Herbal medicine|herbal medicine]] for pain relief and other uses. The leaves of ''Boerhavia&nbsp;diffusa'' are often used as a green vegetable in many parts of India.

==Description==
[[File:Sooty tern and sticky Boerhavia fruit.jpg|thumb|alt=A small bird with tiny sticky fruit stuck below the eye |Fruit of ''B.&nbsp;diffusa'' stuck to face of juvenile [[Biology:Sooty tern|sooty tern]]]] 
''Boerhavia diffusa'' is widely dispersed, occurring throughout India, the Pacific, and southern United States. Flowers are small, around 5&nbsp;mm in diameter. Pollens are round, roughly 65 microns in diameter. [[File:Pollen of Boerhavia diffusa 2.jpg|thumb|Pollen]] This wide range is explained by its small fruit, which are very sticky and grow a few inches off the ground, ideally placed to latch on to small migratory birds as they walk by.<ref name=carlquist/>

'''Habit'''

A creeping, perennial, much-branched herb with stout fusi form roots.

'''Stem'''

Branches divaricate, stem purplish, thickened at nodes.

'''Leaves'''

Opposite, oblique, ovate or sub orbicular, rounded, entire, margins slightly pinkish, wavy, lower surface with small, white scales, base rounded.

'''Inflorescence'''

Small umbels forming Corymbose, axillary and terminal panicle.

'''Flowers'''

*Bracteoles, acute. Perianth -tube constricted above the ovary, limb funnel-shaped, dark-pink, with 5 vertical bands outside.
*Stamens 2 or 3, slightly exserted, unequal.
*Ovary superior, oblique, ovule 1, erect, stigma.

'''Fruit'''

Achene rounded, 6-ribbed.

'''Seed'''

Minute, albuminous with endosperm. Embryo curved.

==Distribution==
A true and accurate accounting of the native range of ''Boerhavia diffusa'' has not been determined. However, it is very widespread, and has become [[Biology:Naturalisation|naturalized]] in many places. It is believed<ref name=grin/> to be a [[Earth:Native plant|native plant]] to the following places in:
*'''Africa''' —
Botswana, [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]], Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, [[Biology:Rwanda|Rwanda]], Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, {{wipe|South Africa}} (Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape provinces), Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
*'''Asia''' —
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, {{wipe|China}} (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces), {{wipe|India}}, Indonesia, {{wipe|Japan}} (Ryukyu Islands), Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, {{wipe|Pakistan}} (Punjab, Sind, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan), the {{wipe|Philippines}}, Southern Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Also, on the [[Place:Arabian Peninsula|Arabian Peninsula]] in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]], and Yemen (Socotra).
*'''North America''' —
Mexico, and the U.S. (in the states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina).
*'''Caribbean''' — 
[[Biology:Anguilla|Anguilla]], the Bahamas, the [[Finance:Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands]], Cuba, [[Earth:Dominica|Dominica]], Grenada, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, Montserrat, the Netherlands Antilles (Saba), Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
*'''South America''' —
{{wipe|Argentina}}, Belize, Bolivia, {{wipe|Chile}}, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
*'''South Pacific''' —
Fiji, and [[Earth:New Caledonia|New Caledonia]].

== Economic importance ==
''B. diffusa'' is widely used as a green leafy vegetable in many Asian and African countries. ''B. diffusa'' can be used as a fodder for livestock, but has the potential for contaminating seed stocks, and may harbor pathogens for certain crops, such as [[Biology:Eggplant|eggplant]]s.<ref name=grin/>

== Chemistry ==
[[Biology:Boerhavia gracillima|Boerhavia G]] and Boerhavia H are two [[Chemistry:Rotenoid|rotenoid]]s isolated from ''B. diffusa''.<ref name="pmid17341062">{{cite journal|pmid=17341062|year=2007|last1=Ahmed-Belkacem|first1=A|last2=MacAlou|first2=S|last3=Borrelli|first3=F|last4=Capasso|first4=R|last5=Fattorusso|first5=E|last6=Taglialatela-Scafati|first6=O|last7=Di Pietro|first7=A|title=Nonprenylated rotenoids, a new class of potent breast cancer resistance protein inhibitors|volume=50|issue=8|pages=1933–8|doi=10.1021/jm061450q|journal=Journal of Medicinal Chemistry}}</ref>  A quinolone [[Chemistry:Alkaloid|alkaloid]], [[Chemistry:Lunamarine|lunamarine]], isolated from ''B. diffusa''<ref name="ctdbase" /> has shown some ''[[In vitro|in vitro]]'' anticancer,<ref name="manu&kuttan1" /> antiestrogenic,<ref name="sreeja&sreeja" /> immunomodulatory,<ref name="manu&kuttan2" /> and anti-amoebic activity (particularly against ''[[Biology:Entamoeba histolytica|Entamoeba histolytica]]'').<ref name="sohni, etal"/>
The plant contains a protein called BDP-30, presumably a ribosome-inactivating protein.<ref>{{Cite journal | journal = Journal of Biosciences | date = 2015 | volume = 40 | issue = 1 | pages = 125–135 | title = BDP-30, a systemic resistance inducer from Boerhaavia diffusa L., suppresses TMV infection, and displays homology with ribosome-inactivating proteins |author1=Shalini Srivastava |author2=HN Verma |author3=Aparana Srivastava |author4=Vivek Prasad | doi =10.1007/s12038-014-9494-0| pmid = 25740147 | s2cid = 14332848 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs=

<ref name=carlquist>{{ cite web |author=Sherwin Carlquist |year=2008 |title=Dispersal to Islands |work=Plant Discorveries : Sherwin Carlquist |url=http://www.sherwincarlquist.com/dispersal-to-islands.html |access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=ctdbase>{{ cite web |url=http://ctdbase.org/detail.go?type=chem&acc=C526689 |title=Punarnavine |date=March 6, 2013 |work=Comparative Toxicogenomics Database |publisher=Mount Desert Island Biological Lab |location=Salisbury Cove, Maine |access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=grin>''Boerhavia diffusa'' was originally described and published in ''[[Biology:Species Plantarum|Species Plantarum]]''  1:3. 1753. {{GRIN | accessdate=March 14, 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=manu&kuttan1>{{cite journal |author1=Manu K.A. |author2=Kuttan G. |title=Punarnavine induces apoptosis in B16F-10 melanoma cells by inhibiting NF-kappaB signaling |journal=Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention |year=2009 |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=1031–1037 |pmid=20192578}}</ref>

<ref name=manu&kuttan2>{{ cite journal |author1=Manu K.A. |author2=Kuttan G. |title=Immunomodulatory activities of Punarnavine, an alkaloid from ''Boerhaavia diffusa'' |journal=Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology |year=2009 |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=377–387 |doi=10.1080/08923970802702036 |pmid=19555203|s2cid=2066582 }}</ref>

<ref name="sohni, etal">{{ cite journal |author1=Sohni YR. |author2=Kaimal P. |author3=Bhatt RM. |date=Jan 1995 |title=The antiamoebic effect of a crude drug formulation of herbal extracts against ''Entamoeba histolytica'' in vitro and in vivo |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=43–52 |doi=10.1016/0378-8741(94)01194-5|pmid=7739226 }}</ref>

<ref name=sreeja&sreeja>{{ cite journal |author1=Sreeja S. |author2=Sreeja S. |title=An in vitro study on antiproliferative and antiestrogenic effects of ''Boerhaavia diffusa'' L. extracts |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |year=2009 |volume=126 |issue=2 |pages=221–225 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.041 |pmid=19723573}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
*[http://www.rain-tree.com/ervatostao.htm Tropical Plant Database]
*[http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Boerhavia+diffusa Boerhavia diffusa] on ibiblio
*{{cite book |last=Caldecott |first=Todd |year=2006 |title=Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life |publisher=Elsevier/Mosby |isbn=0-7234-3410-7 }} Contains a detailed monograph on ''Boerhavia diffusa'' (Punarnava) as well as a discussion of health benefits and usage in clinical practice. Available online at https://web.archive.org/web/20110616192944/http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/323-punarnava

{{Taxonbar|from=Q311457}}

[[Category:Boerhavia|diffusa]]

{{Sourceattribution|Boerhavia diffusa}}