Family

Euphorbiaceae

Genus

Euphorbia

Common Name

Indian tree spurge

Plant Figure

Description

Euphorbia tirucalli is latex-producing species, is native to the temperate regions of the world such as East Africa. So far, the latex of E. tirucalli has been used in traditional folk medicine to treat sexual impotence, warts, epilepsy, toothache, hemorrhoids, and snake bites in many African countries. In addition, extracts from the latex or stem of E. tirucalli have also been confirmed to have a variety of pharmacological effects, such as oxytoxic, antiarthritic, antiviral, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Euphol, the most abundant steroid in the latex of E. tirucalli, can selectively induce human gastric cancer cells apoptosis and inhibit cancer cell development.