Deguelia amazonica
Deguelia amazonica
Safety & Hazards
The plant contains rotenone and has been used traditionally as a fish poison - the rotenone kills or stuns the fish making them easy to catch, but the fish remain perfectly edible for mammals. Rotenone is classified by the World Health Organization as moderately hazardous. It is mildly toxic to humans and other mammals, but extremely toxic to many insects (hence its use as an insecticide) and aquatic life, including fish. This higher toxicity in fish and insects is because the lipophilic rotenone is easily taken up through the gills or trachea, but not as easily through the skin or the gastrointestinal tract. The lowest lethal dose for a child is 143 mg/kg, but human deaths from rotenone poisoning are rare because its irritating action causes vomiting. Deliberate ingestion of rotenone, however, can be fatal. The compound decomposes when exposed to sunlight and usually has an activity of six days in the environment.
Botanical Description
Deguelia amazonica is a climbing shrub with vigorous, woody stems that can be 30 metres or more long and twine high into the surrounding vegetation. The stems can be up to 50mm in diameter[ 434 Title Flora of Peru Publication Author Macbride. J.F. Publisher Field Museum of Natural History Year 1936 ISBN Description An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet. , 1420 Title Rotenone-Yielding Plants of South America Publication American Journal of Botany 24 (9) 573-587 1937 Author Krukoff B.A. & Smith A.C. Publisher Year 1937 ISBN Description ]. The roots contain the insecticide rotenone, though probably not in sufficient quantities for commercial exploitation.