2485

12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3

Cocculus DC.

Syst. nat. 1: 515 (1817).

MENISPERMACEAE

x = 13; Cocculus laurifolius: 2n = 26, Cocculus orbiculatus: 2n = 50, 52

Cocculus comprises 8 species, and occurs in Central and North America, Africa, south-eastern and eastern Asia, and Polynesia. In Malesia, 2 species occur, whereas a third one (Cocculus hirsutus (L.) Theob.) found in tropical Africa, Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar) and southern China, has been collected once in Thailand.

There are no records of medicinal uses of Cocculus in the Malesian region, but it is imported as a medicine by Chinese people in Malaysia. In Chinese traditional medicine, Cocculus roots are often used to treat rheumatism and arthritis, sometimes in mixtures with Stephania and Aristolochia, and to treat oedema.
Cocculus hirsutus has many medicinal uses in Pakistan: the leaves are used to treat prurigo, eczema, impetigo and acute gonorrhoea, and the roots to treat fever, rheumatism and syphilitic cachexia, and as a tonic, alterative and diuretic. Roots and leaves of Cocculus pendulus (J.R. Forster & J.G. Forster) Diels are commonly used in traditional medicine in Africa to treat various complaints, but most commonly as a febrifuge.

Morphinane alkaloids with antitumour activity have been isolated from methanolic extracts of stems and roots of Cocculus orbiculatus, e.g. sinococuline and isosinococuline. These compounds showed significant activity against Sarcoma 180 ascites in mice.
Methanolic extracts of dried stem bark of Cocculus orbiculatus significantly inhibited seed germination of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv., Brassica rugosa Prain and cucumber; aristolochic and aristolic acids were isolated and identified as the active principles.
Many alkaloids have been isolated from the leaves of Cocculus laurifolius, e.g. cocculine, isoboldine, norisoboldine, coclafine, erythlaurine, erythramide, laurifinine and cocculitine. Cocculine showed an action similar to that of curare. The quaternary alkaloid isocorydine-methochloride has also been isolated from this species; it showed neuromuscular blocking action.
An aqueous extract of aerial parts of Cocculus hirsutus showed significant diuretic and laxative effects in rats. Cocculus pendulus extracts showed distinct nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne javanica and insecticidal activity against larvae of Spodoptera litura. Ethanolic stem extracts of Cocculus pendulus showed hypotensive and anticancer activity. Numerous alkaloids possessing anticancer activity have been isolated from this species, e.g. cocsulinin.

Slender dioecious climbers, erect shrubs or small trees. Leaves arranged spirally, simple and entire, rarely lobed, shortly petiolate; stipules absent. Inflorescence an axillary cyme or thyrse. Flowers small, unisexual, regular; sepals 6—9 in 3 whorls, outer ones smallest; petals 6, bifid or emarginate at apex; male flowers with inflexed auricles at base of petals clasping the 6 free stamens; female flowers with 6 staminodes and 3 or 6 free, superior carpels, styles subulate and reflexed. Fruit consisting of 1—6 drupes, curved with style-scar near base; endocarp dorsally verruculose or ridged, each drupe 1-seeded. Seeds curved almost into a ring, dorsiventrally flattened; endosperm very thin; cotyledons liguliform.

Cocculus laurifolius usually occurs in secondary habitats, such as open woodland, thickets, grassland, plantations and river banks. In Malesia, Cocculus orbiculatus is usually found climbing over coastal vegetations, but sometimes also inland on limestone.

On the coast of the Black Sea, Cocculus laurifolius is cultivated, where it proved resistant to frost, although plants were killed back to the roots at temperatures below —9°C. Normal N nutrition in spring and well-timed high K application improved frost resistance. The plants there are propagated by semi-hardwood cuttings under glass.
In India, in-vitro propagation has been successfully practised for Cocculus pendulus. Multiple shoot formation was obtained from nodal explants and callus on Murashige and Skoog medium with low concentration of benzyladenine. High alkaloid-producing cell lines of Cocculus pendulus have been established which produce antineoplastic agents.

Cocculus is widely distributed and usually occurs in secondary vegetation types, which makes it not easily liable to genetic erosion due to habitat destruction.

Like many other Menispermaceae, Cocculus species are promising medicinal plants. Several uses in traditional medicine and biological activities deserve more attention in research, e.g. the reputed febrifugal, diuretic and anticancer properties. The fact that they can be easily cultivated makes them even more promising.

[247]Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950—. Foundation Flora Malesiana. Rijksherbarium/Hortus Botanicus, Leiden, the Netherlands.
[266]Ganapaty, S., Dash, G.K., Subburaju, T. & Suresh, P., 2002. Diuretic, laxative and toxicity studies of Cocculus hirsutus aerial parts. Fitoterapia 73(1): 28—31.
[272]Gaur, A., Singh, A.K., Suri, S.S. & Ramawat, K.G., 1995. Bud culture and regeneration of plantlets in Cocculus pendulus, a woody medicinal plant. Gartenbauwissenschaft 60(2): 69—72.
[385]Hussain, S.F. et al., 1984. The alkaloidal profile of Cocculus pendulus. Tetrahedron 40(13): 2513—2517.
[731]Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
[765]Ramawat, K.G., Bhardwaj, L. & Tewari, M.N., 1992. Anti-tumor drugs produced by tissue culture: a short review. Bionature 12: 33—41.

Francisca Murti Setyowati

Cocculus laurifolius
Cocculus orbiculatus

Setyowati, F.M., 2003. Cocculus DC.. In: Lemmens, R.H.M.J. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(3): Medicinal and poisonous plants 3. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea

The following species in this genus are important in this commodity group and are treated separatedly in this database:
Cocculus laurifolius
Cocculus orbiculatus