Common Medicinal Plants, Poisonous Plants and Ordeal plants III

Question 1

What is a medicinal plant?

Answer 1

A medicinal plant is any plant in which one or more of its organs contain substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which are precursors for the synthesis of useful drugs.

Question 2

What is the importance of medicinal plants?

Answer 2

1. They have been the basis of treatment of various diseases in African traditional medicine.
2. They are the source of over 25% of prescribed drugs globally.
3. They are available, affordable and accessible.
4. They offer efficacy where synthetic drug agents fail.
5. Their use is not limited to humans.

Question 3

Mention 5 authors of books containing information on medicinal plants.

Answer 3

1. Dalziel
2. Oliver
3. Sofowora
4. Iwu
5. Gbile
6. Ayensu

Question 4

What are poisonous plants?

Answer 4

They are plant which when touched, inhaled or ingested in sufficient amount, can be harmful or fatal to an organism.

Question 5

What are ordeal plants?

Answer 5

They are plants which were used in the primitive form of trial to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused to severe pain or suffering, survival or which was taken as divine proof of innocence.

Question 6

Mention 5 poisonous plants.

Answer 6

1. Conium maculatum L. (Apiaceae)
2. Physostigma venenosum Balf (Fabaceae)
3. Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae)
4. Abrus precatorius L. (Fabaceae)
5. Macuna pruriens L. (Fabaceae)

Question 7

What plant contains the toxin Ricin? What is the common name?

Answer 7

Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiaceae)
Castor bean.

Question 8

What plant contains the toxin Physostigmine?
What is the common name?

Answer 8

Physostigma venenosum Balf (Fabaceae)
Calabar bean.

Question 9

What toxins are contained in Macuna pruriens L. (Fabaceae)? What symptoms do they produce?

Answer 9

Mucunain and Serotonin.

Coughing, convulsions, twisting and death by suffocation.

Question 10

What plant is called the Velvet bean?

Answer 10

Mucuna pruriens L. (Fabaceae)

Question 11

What are the two toxins that inactivate the ribsome? Where are they found?

Answer 11

Ricin in Ricinus communis
Abrin in Abrus precatorius

Question 12

Where is coniine found? What’s the common name of the plant?

Answer 12

Conium maculatum L. (Apiaceae)
Poison Hemlock

Question 13

What is the common name of Abrus precatorius?

Answer 13

Crab’s eye, rosary pea, jequirity beans.