Euphorbia poissonii
Euphorbia poissonii | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
Genus: | Euphorbia |
Species: | E. poissonii
|
Binomial name | |
Euphorbia poissonii |
Euphorbia poissonii,
It is named for French botanist Henri Louis Poisson, who formally described other Euphorbia species.
Toxic activity
In addition to a variety of irritant phorbol-type esters, the latex contains resiniferatoxin and tinyatoxin, two closely related highly irritant resiniferonol-type esters.[3] The most active toxin, resiniferatoxin, binds to pain receptors in the same way as capsaicin but much more powerfully. It stimulates the neurons to fire repeatedly, causing pain.
Due to its selective nature of binding and killing pain receptors while leaving other nerve cells intact, resiniferatoxin is currently being researched as a possible treatment for chronic pain.
References
- ^ Euphorbia poissonii in Tropicos
- ^ Euphorbia poissoni in CJB African Plant Database
- ^ a b Euphorbia poissonii in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database
External links
- Media related to Euphorbia poissonii at Wikimedia Commons