Cascabela thevetia

Cascabela thevetia (syn: Thevetia peruviana) is a poisonous plant native throughout Mexico and in Central America, and cultivated widely as an ornamental. It is a relative of Nerium oleander, giving it a common name yellow oleander.

Cascabela thevetia
Flowers and leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Gentianales
Family:
Apocynaceae
Genus:
Cascabela
Species:
C. thevetia
Binomial name
Cascabela thevetia
(L.) Lippold
Synonyms[2]
  • Cascabela peruviana (Pers.) Raf.
  • Cerbera linearifolia Stokes
  • Cerbera peruviana Pers.
  • Cerbera thevetia L.
  • Thevetia linearis Raf.
  • Thevetia linearis A. DC.
  • Thevetia neriifolia Juss. ex A.DC.
  • Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K.Schum.
  • Thevetia thevetia (L.) H.Karst. nom. inval.

Etymology

'Cascabel', 'cascavel' or 'cascabela' is Spanish for a small bell, a snake's rattle or a rattlesnake itself.[3] The allusion may also be to the plant's toxicity comparable to the venom of a rattlesnake. The latin specific name thevetia commemorates André de Thevet (1516-1590), a French Franciscan priest and explorer, who explored Brazil and Guiana[4] (where the plant is known as chapéu-de-napoleão, ie, Napoleon's hat).

Description

Cascabela thevetia is an evergreen tropical shrub or small tree. Its leaves are willow-like, linear-lanceolate, and glossy green in color. They are covered in waxy coating to reduce water loss (typical of oleanders). Its stem is green turning silver/gray as it ages.[5] Flowers bloom from summer to fall. The long funnel-shaped sometimes-fragrant yellow (less commonly apricot, sometimes white) flowers are in few-flowered terminal clusters.[5] Its fruit is deep red-black in color encasing a large seed that bears some resemblance to a 'Chinese lucky nut.'

Leaves and buds of yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia) in Domjur, West Bengal, India.

Cascabela thevetia is commonly known as Kaneir or Kaner (कनेर) in Hindi language in India. It is effectively drought resistant and tolerant to high temperatures, hence found in various states of India like Andhra, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh , Odisha and Assam where semi arid climate is prevalent.

Religious importance

Its bright yellow flowers are used for religious purposes in India. The tree is native to Mexico and thus direct references to Hindu culture are new.

Toxicity
Ripe fruit.

All parts of the C. thevetia plant are toxic to most vertebrates as they contain cardiac glycosides. Many cases of intentional and accidental poisoning of humans are known.[6]

The main toxins are the cardenolides called thevetin A and thevetin B; others include peruvoside, neriifolin, thevetoxin and ruvoside.[7][8] These cardenolides are not destroyed by drying or heating and they are very similar to digoxin from Digitalis purpurea. They produce gastric and cardiotoxic effects. Antidotes for treatment include atropine and digoxin immune fabs (antibodies) and treatment may include oral administration of activated charcoal.[9][10][11] Ovine polyclonal anti-digitoxin Fab fragment antibody (DigiTAb; Therapeutic Antibodies Inc.) can be used to treat T. peruviana poisoning, but for many countries the cost is prohibitive.[12]

A few bird species are however known to feed on them without any ill effects. These include the sunbirds, Asian koel, red-whiskered bulbul, white-browed bulbul, red-vented bulbul, brahminy myna, common myna and common grey hornbill.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

In South India and in Sri Lanka swallowing the seeds of Thevetia peruviana[19] (Kaneru කණේරු (Sinhala), Manjal arali (Tamil)) is one of the preferred methods for suicides in villages where they are grown in abundance.[20]

Extracts from C. thevetia are reported to possess antispermatogenic activity in rats.[21]

In 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported on weight loss supplements substituting Crataegus mexicana and Aleurites moluccanus for C. thevetia, following multiple hospitalizations.[22][23]

Uses
Trunk.
Cultivation

Cascabela thevetia is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and planted as large flowering shrub or small ornamental tree standards in gardens and parks in temperate climates. In frost prone areas it is container plant, in the winter season brought inside a greenhouse or as a house plant. It tolerates most soils and is drought tolerant.[5]

Biological pest control

The plant's toxins have tested in experiments for uses in biological pest control. T. peruviana seed oil was used to make a 'paint' with antifungal, antibacterial and anti-termite properties.[24]

  • Apricot colored flower
    Apricot colored flower
  • Seeds
    Seeds
  • Dry seeds
    Dry seeds
  • Leaves
    Leaves
  • White variety of Cascabela thevetia
    White variety of Cascabela thevetia
  • Growth habit
    Growth habit
  • Variety with apricot-colored flowers.
    Variety with apricot-colored flowers.
  • At a park in Delhi, India
    At a park in Delhi, India
  • Cascabela thevetia (Kaner) in Delhi
    Cascabela thevetia (Kaner) in Delhi
  • Cascabela thevetia (Karen) in Rajkot
    Cascabela thevetia (Karen) in Rajkot
  • Yellow Oleander
    Yellow Oleander

References
  1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Cascabela thevetia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T146789945A146789947. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T146789945A146789947.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. CRC Press. ISBN 9780849326738.
  4. "Cascabela thevetia - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  5. "Thevetia peruvians". Missouri Botanical Garden. Archived from the original on 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  6. Shannon D. Langford & Paul J. Boor (1996). "Oleander toxicity: an examination of human and animal toxic exposures". Toxicology. 109 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/0300-483X(95)03296-R. PMID 8619248.
  7. Bose TK, Basu RK, Biswas B, De JN, Majumdar BC, Datta S (1999). "Cardiovascular effects of yellow oleander ingestion". J Indian Med Assoc. 97 (10): 407–410. PMID 10638101.
  8. Kohls S, Scholz-Böttcher BM, Teske J, Zark P, Rullkötter J (2012). "Cardiac glycosides from Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) seeds". Phytochemistry. 75: 114–27. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2011.11.019. PMID 22196940.
  9. Rajapakse S. (2009). "Management of yellow oleander poisoning". Clinical Toxicology. 47 (3): 206–212. doi:10.1080/15563650902824001. PMID 19306191. S2CID 37334350.
  10. Roberts D.M.; Southcott E.; Potter J.M.; Roberts M.S.; Eddleston M.; Buckley N.A. (2006). "Pharmacokinetics of digoxin cross-reacting substances in patients with acute yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) poisoning, including the effect of activated charcoal". Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. 28 (6): 784–792. doi:10.1097/ftd.0b013e31802bfd69. PMC 2296884. PMID 17164695.
  11. Bandara V.; Weinstein S.A.; White J.; Eddleston M. (2010). "A review of the natural history, toxinology, diagnosis and clinical management of Nerium oleander (common oleander) and Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander) poisoning". Toxicon. 56 (3): 273–281. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.03.026. PMID 20438743.
  12. M. Eddleston; S. Rajapakse; Rajakanthan, S. Jayalath; L. Sjöström; W. Santharaj; et al. (2000). "Anti-digoxin Fab fragments in cardiotoxicity induced by ingestion of yellow oleander: a randomised controlled trial". Lancet. 355 (9208): 967–972. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)90014-X. PMID 10768435. S2CID 2095538.
  13. Kannan,R (1991). "Koels feeding on the yellow oleander". Blackbuck. 7 (2): 48.
  14. Krishnan, M (1952). "Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (4): 943–945.
  15. Raj,PJ Sanjeeva (1963). "Additions to the list of birds eating the fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia )". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 60 (2): 457–458.
  16. Raj, P J Sanjeeva (1959). "Birds eating poisonous fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 56 (3): 639.
  17. Neelakantan,KK (1953). "Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris) eating fruits of the Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (3): 738.
  18. Rajasingh, Simon G; Rajasingh, Irene V (1970). "Birds and mammals eating the fruits of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana)". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (3): 572–573.
  19. Thevetia peruviana
  20. M. Eddleston, D.A. Warrell (1999-09-01). "Management of acute yellow oleander poisoning". QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  21. Gupta R, Kachhawa JB, Gupta RS, Sharma AK, Sharma MC, Dobhal MP (March 2011). "Phytochemical evaluation and antispermatogenic activity of Thevetia peruviana methanol extract in male albino rats". Hum Fertil (Camb). 14 (1): 53–59. doi:10.3109/14647273.2010.542230. PMID 21466267. S2CID 24757302.
  22. Berland, Noah; Kababick, James; Santos, Cynthia; Calello, Diane P. (15 September 2023). "Notes from the Field: Online Weight Loss Supplements Labeled as Tejocote (Crataegus mexicana) Root, Substituted with Yellow Oleander (Cascabela thevetia) — United States, 2022". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 72 (37): 1016–1017.
  23. "The FDA Expands Warning to Consumers About Toxic Yellow Oleander Purported to be Nuez de la India in Certain Botanical Weight Loss Products". Food and Drug Administration. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  24. Kareru P.G.; Keriko J.M.; Kenji G.M.; Gachanja A.N. (2010). "Anti-termite and antimicrobial properties of paint made from Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) Schum. oil extract". African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 4 (2): 87–89.
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