PHYTOLACCA: CHARACTERISTICS, MEDICINAL USES, REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES - BIOLOGY - 2025

Phytolacca is a genus of plants that currently comprises about 22 species. It is commonly known as guaba, carmine grass, dog corn, altasara, mata-vieja, yerba de culebra, granilla, snake grass, American grape, American spinach, wafer grass, Indian grapefruit, and jaboncillo.

It is a plant belonging to the Fitolacáceas family. With respect to its etymology, the name of the genus means "vegetable lacquer", due to the carmine dye that is extracted from its fruits.

Phytolacca sp. Source: pixabay.com

Phytolacca is a genus of plants of South American origin, which is found very frequently in the Andean region. They can be found in abandoned paddocks, on walkways, on roadsides or on vacant lots.

In pre-Columbian times, this plant was used by the aborigines as a kind of emetic and the young stems were edible. In addition, the fruits of certain species of Phytolacca are used to dye fabrics and wool.

Regarding its medicinal use, all species of this genus are used in the same ways and are considered to have the same properties. It is used as an anti-inflammatory, deworming, cleansing and emetic.

characteristics

Grass

Phytolacca plants are perennial, shrub-shaped herbs. They can be up to a meter and a half tall and have no pubescence.

Phytolacca sp. Source: pixabay.com

Root

They have a napiform root that can be about 1 m long, being thick and fleshy.

Stem

The stem of these plants is purple, hollow, erect, smooth and branched in the upper layer.

Violet stem of carmine grass

Leaves

It has dark green leaves, alternate, with entire edge, and oval-lanceolate or oblong shape. The apex is sharp and they have a narrow base. The leaves can be about 13 cm long by 7 cm wide.

flowers

The flowers are pinkish white. It does not have petals, but it does have petaloid sepals. These flowers are grouped in clusters in the axils of the plant, being short and thick. In this way, each flower has a bracture.

Fruit

The fruit of these plants is a berry. Globose in shape, it is up to about 7mm in diameter and has some thin ribs. It is flattened in appearance and resembles blackberries. Its color is purple and it turns almost black when ripe.

Fruit of Phytolacca sp. Source: pixabay.com

Taxonomy

Its taxonomic classification is as follows:

-Kingdom: Plantae

-Filo: Tracheophyta

-Class: Magnoliopsida

-Order: Caryophyllales

-Family: Phytolaccaceae

-Gender: Phytolacca L. (1753).

Habitat

The plants belonging to this genus develop in places with a large amount of organic matter, in temperate and medium climates, even above 2000 meters above sea level.

They are distributed throughout the Andean region of America, in tropical and subtropical climates. However, they are also located in other countries of the world. It is easy to find them on roads, paddocks, corrals or on the edges of the paths.

Ecological importance

The importance of plants of this genus has recently been recognized due to their bioaccumulative action of heavy metals such as cadmium, which tends to accumulate in greater quantities in the roots than in other parts of the plant.

Likewise, manganese phytoaccumulation has been determined in soils that contain high amounts of this element, or where it is accumulated by experiments in greenhouses. In this case, it is the leaves and the stem that most bioaccumulate this element.

This beneficial environmental effect allows taking into account the plants of the genus Phytolacca, since they are promising species in the detoxification of environments contaminated with these metals.

Fruit in formation of carmine grass. Source: pixabay.com

Medical uses

Phytolacca herbs have an important use in traditional medicine, because they contain some chemical substances such as saponins, phytolaquine, resin, tannins and glycosides.

This plant, in general, is used as a drug in traditional medicine. For this, its roots, fruits or its entire aerial structure are used.

While, by the Review Commission of Pharmaceutical Products in Colombia, it is considered a drug, for which its root is used.

With respect to the popular way in which it should be prepared for consumption, the poultices, infusions, decoctions, powders and compresses that can be applied directly to skin conditions stand out.

In general, its use is recommended as an antiseptic, healing and anti-inflammatory. The root can be used as a vermifuge and is recommended against scabies. For its part, the powder from the root is used to heal skin wounds.

Phytolacca in medicinal presentation. Source: pixabay.com

How to use or prepare

Its use as an infusion is recommended to purify the stomach and as a dewormer; in fact, it is recommended in the treatment against tapeworms, and for this the infusion of parts such as the stem and leaves, in addition to the root, is useful. Also, the use of its fruits is recommended as cathartic and emetic.

The decoction of the leaves is used to make baths during the cure of skin diseases caused by parasites, as well as for diabetic ulcers, to relieve varicose veins of the legs, reduce inflammation or treat tonsillitis, hemorrhoids, mumps, mastitis and to reduce size or lose weight.

On the other hand, the macerate of the leaves is prepared in alcohol and is used to treat rheumatism. The juice of its fruits is considered a laxative.

It is recommended, for external use, 50 g of root for each liter of water. It is known that due to its saponin content, its use in excess can become toxic, cause serious diarrhea with expulsion of blood, and irritate mucous membranes, therefore, despite its benefits, its use orally is contraindicated.

Representative species

Some of the representative species of this genus are the following: P. bogotensis (widely used in Colombia and other countries as a medicinal plant), P. icosandra, P. rugosa, P. sanguinea, P. rivinioides.

Among the majority of herbaceous species of this genus, one stands out for having a tree habit and being of singular beauty: the Phytolacca dioica.

It is a tree that measures up to 30 m, with a smooth and whitish trunk, with succulent branches and alternating dark green leaves and with reddish petioles. This species grows between 1,700 and 2,400 meters above sea level and is distributed from the Colombian Andes to Argentina.

References

1. Catalog of Life: Annual Checklist 2019. Genus Phytolacca. Taken from: catalogueoflife.org
2. Fonnegra Gómez, R. Jiménez, SL 2007. Medicinal plants approved in Colombia. 2nd ed. Editorial University of Antioquia. 353 p. Taken from books.google.co.ve
3. Vargas, WG 2002. Illustrated guide to the plants of the Quindío Mountains and the Central Andes. Editorial University of Caldas. 805 p. Taken from: books.google.co.ve
4. Fu, X., Dou Ch., Chen, Y., Chen X., Shi, J., Yu, M., Xu, J. 2011. Subcellular distribution and chemical forms of cadmium in Phytolacca americana L. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 186 (1): 103-107.
5. Xue, SG, Chen, YX, Reeves, RD, Baker, A., Lin, Q., Fernando, D. 2004. Manganese uptake and accumulation by the hyperaccumulator plant Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. (Phytolaccaceae). Environmental Pollution 131 (3): 393-399.