Euphorbiaceae

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Euphorbiaceae
Temporal range: Maastrichtian–Recent
Parts of the
candlenut tree

(Aleurites moluccana)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Juss.[1]
Subfamilies
Euphorbia characias flowers

Euphorbiaceae (

succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution.[4] This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics; however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica
.

Description

Cyathia
of Euphorbia baylissii
Croton cultivar 'Petra'

The

spines
, or in succulent species are sometimes absent.

The plants can be

ovaries
.

The genera in tribe

pistil with branched stigmas
. This whole arrangement resembles a single flower.

The fruit is usually a schizocarp, but sometimes a drupe. A typical schizocarp is the regma, a capsular fruit with three or more cells, each of which splits open explosively at maturity, scattering the small seeds.

The family contains a large variety of

Ricinus communis contain the highly toxic carbohydrate-binding protein ricin.[5]

A milky latex is a characteristic of the subfamilies Euphorbioideae and Crotonoideae, and the latex of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis is the primary source of natural rubber. The latex is poisonous in the Euphorbioideae, but innocuous in the Crotonoideae.[citation needed] White mangrove, also known as blind-your-eye mangrove latex (Excoecaria agallocha), causes blistering on contact and temporary blindness if it contacts the eyes, hence its name. The latex of spurge was used as a laxative.

Twenty first century molecular studies have shown that the enigmatic family Rafflesiaceae, which was only recently recognized to belong to order Malpighiales, is derived from within the Euphorbiaceae.[6]

Euphorbiaceae are monoecious and

herbaceous Chamaesyce by Ehrenfeld 1976, Hevea by Bouharmont 1962, and Manihot by Jennings 1963 and George & Shifriss 1967.[7]

Taxonomy

Main article: List of Euphorbiaceae genera

The family Euphorbiaceae is the fifth-largest flowering plant family[8] and has about 7,500 species[9] organised into 300 genera,[8] 37 tribes, and three subfamilies: Acalyphoideae,[8] Crotonoideae and Euphorbioideae.[10] Amongst the oldest fossils of the group include the permineralised fruit Euphorbiotheca deccanensis from the Intertrappean Beds of India, dating to the late Maastrichtian at the end of the Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago.[11]

Uses and toxicity

Some species of Euphorbiaceae have economic significance, such as

Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera) are invasive weeds in North America.[12]

Seeds of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis

L.
) contain the extremely potent toxin, ricin.

Although some species of the Euphorbiaceae have been used in traditional medicine,[13] as of 2019, there is no rigorous clinical evidence that euphorbia extracts are effective for treating any disease.

There is evidence that euphol, a tetracyclic triterpene alcohol, and the main constituent of the sap of the medicinal plant Euphorbia tirucalli, has anti-cancer activity.[14] Analysis of toxicological screening of the inhibitory effect and bioactivity of euphol has shown concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines, with more than a five-fold difference in the IC50 values in some cell lines. Euphol treatment had a higher selective cytotoxicity index (0.64-3.36) than temozolomide (0.11-1.13) and reduced both proliferation and cell motility. Euphol also exhibited antitumoral and antiangiogenic activity in vivo, using the chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay, with synergistic temozolomide interactions in most cell lines. In conclusion, euphol exerted in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity against glioma cells, through several cancer pathways, including the activation of autophagy-associated cell death.[15]

Numerous Euphorbiaceae species are listed on the poisonous plant database of the US Food and Drug Administration mainly because of the toxic sap.[16]

Phytochemistry

oleander), cycloartenol, lectin, and taraxerol, among others.[13][17]

Conservation

Some species of this family are facing the risk of extinction.[18][19] These include the Euphorbia species E. appariciana, E. attastoma, E. crossadenia,[20] and E. gymnoclada.

References

  1. hdl:10654/18083
    .
  2. ^ "Definition of EUPHORBIA". Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  3. ISBN 978-8472071292
    .
  4. ^ Natasha Nguyen (2014). "Convergent evolution of cacti and euphorbias". Retrieved 31 March 2007.
  5. PMID 3964368
    .
  6. S2CID 27620205
    .
  7. ISBN 3642394167
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.5479/si.0081024X.86
    . Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  9. ^ "The Plant list: Euphorbiaceae". Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Missouri Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. ISBN 1-57808-351-6
    .
  11. S2CID 239507275
    .
  12. ^ Gucker, Corey L (2010). "Euphorbia esula". Fire Effects Information System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  13. ^
    PMID 28082796
    .
  14. S2CID 52132966
    .
  15. S2CID 49329684
    .
  16. ^ "FDA Poisonous Plant Database". US Food and Drug Administration. 2019. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  17. PMID 28647179
    .
  18. PMID 21652441
    .
  19. PMID 27464466
    .
  20. S2CID 18015
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Euphorbiaceae.
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