botanical record · discovered
Purple Tephrosia
Tephrosia purpurea
Purple Tephrosia · Wild Indigo · Ahuhu · Auhuhu · Fishpoison · Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plant · Hola · Kavahuhu · Purple Hoarypea · Purpurinė tefrozija · Sari hamo · Tephrosia · Téphrosie pourpre · Téphrosie pourpre, Lentille marronne, Indigo rouge · fishpoison · hora · purple tephrosia · tefrósia
At a glance
Origin / distribution: Sudan, ", US(Seminole), Mexico, Guiana, Latin America, West Indies, Mauritius
Cultural traditions: not documented
Recorded uses: Bilious, Coffee, Colic, Cough
Science studied: ASH, CARBOHYDRATES, FAT, ISOTEPHROSIN
Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗
Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.
Names and identity
Family: Fabaceae
Scientific name: Tephrosia purpurea
Common names: Purple Tephrosia, Wild Indigo, Ahuhu, Auhuhu, Fishpoison, Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plant, Hola, Kavahuhu, Purple Hoarypea, Purpurinė tefrozija, Sari hamo, Tephrosia, Téphrosie pourpre, Téphrosie pourpre, Lentille marronne, Indigo rouge, fishpoison, hora, purple tephrosia, tefrósia
History
The source record documents this plant in Elsewhere, Sudan, ", US(Seminole), Mexico, Guiana, Latin America, West Indies and 2 additional places.
It records these historical or traditional applications:
- Bilious
- Coffee
- Colic
- Cough
- Diarrhea
- Diuretic
- Dyspepsia
- Elephantiasis
show 23 more documented entries
- Epistaxis
- Eruption
- Fever
- Itch
- Kidney
- Laxative
- Piscicide
- Poison
- Rheumatism
- Sclerosis
- Skin
- Tonic
- Tumor
- Urogenital
- Eczema
- Anodyne
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Deobstruent
- Inflammation
- Insecticide
- Liver
- Scabies
This summary is limited to the cited source record.
Origins and distribution
- Elsewhere
- Sudan
- "
- US(Seminole)
- Mexico
- Guiana
- Latin America
- West Indies
- Mauritius
- India
Documented cultural uses
- Bilious
- Coffee
- Colic
- Cough
- Diarrhea
- Diuretic
- Dyspepsia
- Elephantiasis
- Epistaxis
- Eruption
- Fever
- Itch
show 19 more documented entries
- Kidney
- Laxative
- Piscicide
- Poison
- Rheumatism
- Sclerosis
- Skin
- Tonic
- Tumor
- Urogenital
- Eczema
- Anodyne
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Deobstruent
- Inflammation
- Insecticide
- Liver
- Scabies
Contemporary uses
Contemporary practice is not documented separately in this record.
Scientific research
Indexed records indicate research activity; they do not establish efficacy or safety.
Indexed research records
- Draft genome sequence of <i>Rhizobium leguminosarum</i> I10 isolated from root nodules of <i>Tephrosia purpurea</i>. · 2026 source ↗
- <i>Tephrosia purpurea</i>, with (-)-Pseudosemiglabrin as the Major Constituent, Alleviates Severe Acute Pancreatitis-Mediated Acute Lung Injury by Modulating HMGB1 and IL-22. · 2025 source ↗
- Evaluation of Synergistic Activity of Ethanolic Leaf Extracts of Tephrosia Purpurea and Bacopa Monnieri in Ulcer Induced Rats. · 2024 source ↗
Scientific compounds
Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.
- ASH
- CARBOHYDRATES
- FAT
- ISOTEPHROSIN
- LUPEOL
- NITROGEN
- PHOSPHORUS
- PROTEIN
- ROTENOIDS
- RUTIN
- SILICA
- SODIUM
- TEPHROSIN
- CALCIUM
- FIBER
- MAGNESIUM
show 4 more documented entries
- POTASSIUM
- ROTENONE
- BETA-SITOSTEROL
- BETULINIC-ACID
Legality
Country-specific legal status is not documented in this record.
Consult the CITES species checklist for international trade protections and listings. This is not a complete statement of local law.
Reference images

Sources
Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases · CC0
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0
show claim source mapping
CC0 · Dr. Duke raw CSV archive
Contributions and revisions
No published revisions are documented for this record. Community submissions enter review and retain attribution before any published change.
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