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Herbs & Plants

Derris

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Botanical Name :Derris elliptica Benth.
Family: Fabaceae (pea family)
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus :  Derris
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales
Tribe: Millettieae

Synonyms: Deguelia elliptica (Roxb.) Taub., Galedupa elliptica Roxb., Pongamia elliptica Wall. [basionym] (GRIN 2002).Cylista piscatoria Blanco ,Galactia terminaliflora Blanco  ,Milletia splendidissima Vidal  ,Milletia piscatoria Merr.

Common Names: Derris, tuba root (Bailey and Bailey 1976, GRIN 2002), poison vine.Bauit (Tag.) Tubling-pula (Tag.),Lapak (Bik.) Tuva (Iv.),Malasiag (Tag.) Upei (Bon.)
Tibalau (Tag.), Tuba (Malaya),Tibanglan (Tag.) Derris (Engl.),Tubli (P. Bis., Tag., Buk.)  Poison vine (Engl.),Tugli (Tag.)  Tuba root (Engl.)

Habitat ;Native range: D. elliptica is native from India to Indonesia (Bailey and Bailey 1976).Abundant in thickets along streams, in secondary forests at low and medium altitudes.

Global distribution: D. elliptica is cultivated and naturalized to 400 m (1,312 ft) in Fiji(Smith 1985). According to PIER (2000), D. elliptica is observed climbing over small trees and shrubs on Rota, and is also known from Micronesia, American Samoa, Hawai’i, and Christmas Island.

Description:
A rambling climber, with branches covered with brown hairs. Leaves are pinnate and 30-50 cm long with 11-15 leaflets. Leaflets are narrowly oblong-obovate, 9 to 13 cm when mature, smooth above and subglaucous and silky beneath, half as broad. Racemes are lax, 15 to 30 cm long, with reddish flowers in stalked clusters. Pods are 6-8 cm long, with 1 to 3 flat and reniform seeds.

You may click to see the pictures

Cultivation: Derris is cultivated in the tropics for the insecticide Rotenone which is
derived from the roots of the plant (Bailey and Bailey 1976).

Propagation: D. elliptica is propagated by seeds, or the commercially important kinds are propagated by cuttings (Bailey and Bailey 1976).

Properties and constituents:
*Insecticidal because of the rotenone in the roots.
*Root contains rotenone, derrid, anhydroderrid, derrin, tubotoxin, and tubain.
*Study yielded two new rotenoids–4′,5′-dihydroxy-6a,12a-dehydrodegueline and 11,4’5′-trihydroxy-6a,12a-dehydrodeguelin–along with known rotenoids, rotenone and deguelin. source.

Medicinal Uses:

Parts used: Leaves and roots.

Folkloric
*Root with a little opium used as abortifacient, applied nightly in the vagina.
*Infusion or decoction of roots with coconut oil applied to itchy lesions.
*Plaster of the root used for abscesses and leprosy.
*Used by Ifugao-migrants for wounds and skin disease. source

Studies
• Larvicidal: In a study of 96 ethanolic extracts,44 showed activity against the larvae of A aegypti, Derris elliptica one of six that showed high larvicidal activity.
• Rotenone / Pest Control: Derris elliptica extracts containing rotenone have been long used as natural insecticide. Preliminary testing show that Derris emulsifiable concentrate was more effective than Derris water-dispersible granules in controlling spodoptera litura.

Other Uses:
*Roots are insecticidal; rotenone from roots is raw material for insecticides against plant pests.
*White milkly sap from pounded roots used as fish poison.
*Malay indigenous people also use the sap as arrow-poison for hunting. source
*In Borneo, used to make blow-dart poison.
*Despite its toxicity, Derris is used as a food plant by the larvae of numerous Lepidoptera species including Batrachedra amydraula.

Known Hazards:Derris is not only poisonous to insects and fish, but also to other animals and to men. In the Philippines cattle are known to have been killed by eating the leaves. The root has been used as a poison for humans in both suicidal and murder cases. However, it has been generally concluded that there is little likelihood that any residue left from a spray will poison people, as the amount consumed would have to be considerably more than it is ever likely to be in this
case. Rotenone occurs as white crystals which vary in shape but are mostly hexagonal or acicular. It has the empirical formula C23H22O8 and melts at 163°C.; it is optically active,the optical rotation ranging in different solvents from 66° to 230° at 20° C.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:

Click to access derris_elliptica.pdf

http://www.stuartxchange.com/Tubli.html

Click to access tugli.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derris

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