Lobelia tupa

Lobelia tupa is a species of Lobelia native to central Chile from Valparaíso south to Los Lagos regions.[1]

Lobelia tupa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Lobelia
Species:
L. tupa
Binomial name
Lobelia tupa

Lobelia tupa is an evergreen perennial plant which grows up to 4 m tall and thrives in dry soils.[1] The foliage is grey-green, with felty elliptical leaves 10–15 cm long. The flowers are red, tubular and 2-lipped and are produced in a sympodium pattern.

The plant has numerous ethnobotanical uses due to its pharmaceutically active alkaloids. The latex is used as an abortifacient, and the large, felty leaves are smoked as a narcotic with possible hallucinogenic effects - whence one of its common names, Tabaco del Diablo (Devil's tobacco). Ironically, this plant has been used to treat nicotine addiction because it contains the nicotine-related alkaloid Lobeline (a mixed agonist–antagonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors).[2][3] The Mapuche of Southern Chile consider it a sacred plant. Tupa leaves have also been found to contain chemicals that act as a respiratory stimulant.[4]

References
  1. Flora Chilena: Lobelia tupa
  2. Damaj MI, Patrick GS, Creasy KR, Martin BR (July 1997). "Pharmacology of lobeline, a nicotinic receptor ligand". The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 282 (1): 410–9. PMID 9223582.
  3. Miller DK, Harrod SB, Green TA, Wong MY, Bardo MT, Dwoskin LP (January 2003). "Lobeline attenuates locomotor stimulation induced by repeated nicotine administration in rats". Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior. 74 (2): 279–86. doi:10.1016/s0091-3057(02)00996-6. PMID 12479946. S2CID 20510311.
  4. Plants for a Future: Lobelia tupa


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