The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Strophanthus

a genus of woody lianas or, less frequently, shrubs of the family Apocynaceae. The leaves are opposite and entire, and the flowers are in dichasia. The calyx is five-toothed. The corolla is tubular and five-lobed; in many species the lobes are long, ribbonlike, and often twisted. The fruit consists of two follicles, which dehisce horizontally at maturity and together sometimes reach a length of 1 m. The seeds have a hairy pappus.

There are 50 to 60 species, distributed in tropical Africa, on Madagascar, and in South and Southeast Asia. The seeds contain poisonous glycosides—strophanthins—which are used in medicine. Most often used are the seeds of S. gratus, S. hispidus (western and tropical Africa), and S. kombe (southeastern Africa).

REFERENCE

Murav’eva, D. A., and A. F. Gammerman. Tropicheskie i subtropi-cheskie lekarstvennye rasteniia. Moscow, 1974.

V. N. GLADKOVA

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References in periodicals archive

If you are interested in learning more about the use of strophanthus for heart disease, please contact our office at (415) 334-1010 to schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation on the use of strophanthus and how to order it.

Cowan's report about strophanthus. Out of desperation--all options had been exhausted--it was ordered.

Strophanthus: The Insulin of the Heart

CE, Chlorophora excelsa; CP, Ceiba pentandra; SH, Strophanthus hispidus; SD, Synsepalum dulcificum; PN, Picralima nitida; AD, Anthocleista djalonensis; PA, Persea americana; AO, Anacardium occidentale; LM, Loranthus micranthus; QE, Quercetin equivalent.

Caption: Figure 6: Maltose formation in the presence of selected antidiabetic plants; CE, Chlorophora excelsa; CP, Ceiba pentandra; SH, Strophanthus hispidus; SD, Synsepalum dulcificum; PN, Picralima nitida; AD, Anthocleista djalonensis; PA, Persea americana; AO, Anacardium occidentale; LM, Loranthus micranthus (1 mg/mL).

Alpha-Amylase Inhibition and Antioxidative Capacity of Some Antidiabetic Plants Used by the Traditional Healers in Southeastern Nigeria

Members of certain East African tribes gather seeds of the tropical vine Strophanthus gratus and extract a lethal poison to smear on their arrow tips.

High-pressure hormone: mysterious blood compound may plant seeds of hypertension

The medicine that supports all aspects of the parasympathetic nervous system is a medicine from the strophanthus plant called ouabain, or g-strophanthin.

What causes heart attacks

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