botanical record · discovered
Spanish Physic Nut
Jatropha gossypifolia
Spanish Physic Nut · Babatidjin · Bellyache bush · Bellyache bush, Black physicnut, Cotton-leaf physicnut, American purging nut, Cotton-leaf jatropha, Purging nut, Red fig-nut flower, Wild cassava · Cinco dedos · Flaide · Flaira · Higuereta cimarrona · Jarak Merah · Médicinier à feuilles de cotonnier · Médicinier à feuilles de cotonnier, Médecinier sauvage, Médecinier rouge · Oil Nut Tree · Pandou · Physic Nut · Pondu · Purgo · Sanpɛrɛnjiri · Seida · Shon Arei
At a glance
Origin / distribution: Curacao, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Java, Panama, Trinidad, Haiti, West Indies
Cultural traditions: not documented
Recorded uses: Ache(Stomach), Bilious, Cancer, Candlenut
Science studied: APIGENIN, CURCIN, HISTAMINE, ISOPHYTOSTEROL
Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗
Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.
Names and identity
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Scientific name: Jatropha gossypifolia
Common names: Spanish Physic Nut, Babatidjin, Bellyache bush, Bellyache bush, Black physicnut, Cotton-leaf physicnut, American purging nut, Cotton-leaf jatropha, Purging nut, Red fig-nut flower, Wild cassava, Cinco dedos, Flaide, Flaira, Higuereta cimarrona, Jarak Merah, Médicinier à feuilles de cotonnier, Médicinier à feuilles de cotonnier, Médecinier sauvage, Médecinier rouge, Oil Nut Tree, Pandou, Physic Nut, Pondu, Purgo, Sanpɛrɛnjiri, Seida, Shon Arei
History
The source record documents this plant in Curacao, Elsewhere, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Java, Panama, Trinidad, Haiti and 6 additional places.
It records these historical or traditional applications:
- Ache(Stomach)
- Bilious
- Cancer
- Candlenut
- Cold
- Depurative
- Diarrhea
- Disinfectant
show 37 more documented entries
- Dropsy
- Dyspepsia
- Eczema
- Emetic
- Emmenagogue
- Febrifuge
- Fever
- Gargle
- Hydropsy
- Itch
- Laxative
- Leprosy
- Piles
- Purgative
- Rash
- Rectitis
- Sore
- Sore(Throat)
- Stomachic
- Swelling(Mammary)
- Tongue
- Urogenital
- Venereal
- Vermifuge
- Witchcraft
- Wound
- Bite(Snake)
- Cough
- Antibiotic
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Gall
- Hematochezia
- Mammary
- Poison
- Carbuncle
- Tumor
This summary is limited to the cited source record.
Origins and distribution
- Curacao
- Elsewhere
- Venezuela
- Costa Rica
- Java
- Panama
- Trinidad
- Haiti
- West Indies
- Sumatra
- India(Munda)
- Dominican Republic
show 2 more documented entries
- India
- Latin America
Documented cultural uses
- Ache(Stomach)
- Bilious
- Cancer
- Candlenut
- Cold
- Depurative
- Diarrhea
- Disinfectant
- Dropsy
- Dyspepsia
- Eczema
- Emetic
show 33 more documented entries
- Emmenagogue
- Febrifuge
- Fever
- Gargle
- Hydropsy
- Itch
- Laxative
- Leprosy
- Piles
- Purgative
- Rash
- Rectitis
- Sore
- Sore(Throat)
- Stomachic
- Swelling(Mammary)
- Tongue
- Urogenital
- Venereal
- Vermifuge
- Witchcraft
- Wound
- Bite(Snake)
- Cough
- Antibiotic
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Gall
- Hematochezia
- Mammary
- Poison
- Carbuncle
- Tumor
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
- Comprehensive Evaluation of Methanolic Fruits Extract of Jatropha gossypifolia L.: Neuropharmacological, Cytotoxic, Anthelmintic, GC-MS Profiling, and Molecular Docking Studies. · 2025 source ↗
- Phytoremediation proficiency of Jatropha gossypifolia under the influence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on metal contaminated soil. · 2023 source ↗
- Nutritional Profile, GC-MS Analysis and <i>In-silico</i> Anti-diabetic Phytocompounds Candidature of <i>Jatropha gossypifolia</i> Leaf Extracts. · 2024 source ↗
Scientific compounds
Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.
- APIGENIN
- CURCIN
- HISTAMINE
- ISOPHYTOSTEROL
- JATROPHOLONES
- 2-PIPEONYLIDENE-2-VERYTRYL-3-R-GAMMA-BUTYROLACTONE
- BETA-SITOSTEROL
- VITEXIN
- GADAIN
- ISOVITEXIN
- JATROPHONE
- TANNIN
- JATROPHINE
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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