Tephrosia villosa
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643fdd2587ed4384391126 |
| Scientific name | Tephrosia villosa |
| Authority | (L.) Pers. |
| First published in | Syn. Pl.2: 329 (1807) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Tephrosia villosa has been used as a bitter tonic in several South Asian traditions, typically as a hot leaf infusion. In parts of central and peninsular India it has been taken as a tea or decoction to improve digestion and relieve stomach complaints, with leaves most often mentioned (Warrier et al., 1996). Among the mountain communities of the Western Ghats, workers such as Ahmad (1985) recorded similar leaf infusions for colicky pains and loss of appetite, and a thick poultice of pounded leaves was sometimes applied to bruises and minor wounds. In Sri Lanka, the College of Indigenous Medicine compiled leaf-and-stem infusions used for indigestion and to “drive away” mild fevers (Anonymous, 1975). These preparations are explicitly described in the regional sources above, and they are consistent with the plant’s bitter profile in classical Ayurveda and Unani references.
For a practical bitter tonic, a mild leaf infusion is the most straightforward preparation. Simmer 1 level tablespoon of fresh leaves in 250 milliliters of water for 8–10 minutes, remove from heat, and steep an additional 5 minutes before straining; if using dried material, scale back to one loose teaspoon per 250 milliliters and steep for 10 minutes. Dose is typically one cup two or three times a day for no longer than two weeks. Do not use during pregnancy or if you are allergic to legumes; because of the plant’s rotenonoid content and prior use as a fish poison, avoid high doses or prolonged use, and discontinue if nausea or dizziness occurs.
Well-documented constituents that explain the bitterness and the traditionally reported uses include rotenoids such as tephrosin and deguelin, and isoflavones including lanceolatin B, which together contribute strong bitterness and recognized insecticidal and piscicidal activity (Wang et al., 2005; Osmani et al., 2010). Alkaloids are also present, and while research to date has focused on their pharmacological potential, the documented chemistry aligns with the plant’s historical role as a tonic.
Current research continues to focus on rotenoids as leads for antifeedant and antimalarial drug discovery, with in vitro screens showing activity against relevant parasite stages (Wang et al., 2005). Commercial availability of the dried herb is limited, and Tephrosia villosa is best regarded today as an ethnomedicinally significant plant used occasionally in local practice and in ongoing phytochemical studies.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Botanical insecticide dust or extract.
Industrial and craft applications:
Crude leaf extracts have been evaluated in laboratory assays against stored-product insects; the scientific value of the plant lies primarily in its constituent rotenone-class compounds used as experimental tools in genetics, pharmacology, and neuroscience (e.g., mitochondrial complex I inhibition studies). The established chemical class—rotenone—underpins its historical and contemporary use in fisheries management and organic pest control as a non-synthetic larvicide/insecticide. No recorded non-botanical industrial applications (e.g., fiber, gum, dye) are reported for Tephrosia villosa.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal): None documented.
Colorants and tanning: None documented.
Wood and fiber: None documented.
Fragrance and cosmetics: None documented.
Properties relevant to use:
Rotenone and related isoflavonoids confer contact and ingestion toxicity against arthropods and fish. Rotenone is characterized by low water solubility and rapid photodegradation; these properties shape formulation (e.g., dust vs. emulsifiable concentrate) and field performance. Standard-to-use classification is highly jurisdiction-specific; in many countries botanical rotenone is restricted or deregistered for agricultural use due to toxicity and environmental concerns.
Standards and regulation:
Rotenone-based formulations are regulated under national pesticide/biocide frameworks (e.g., EU plant protection products, US EPA pesticide registrations). Use is subject to label requirements, risk assessments, and, in many jurisdictions, cancellation or severe restrictions due to mammalian toxicity and non-target impacts.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Wild-harvesting of leaves for rotenone extraction risks local depletion and genetic erosion. Sustainable sourcing is not documented for Tephrosia villosa; cultivated supply (e.g., seed production of other rotenone-yielding Tephrosia) is limited, and botanical rotenone is increasingly replaced by synthetic alternatives or integrated biological controls.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Tephrosia incana | (Roxb.) Sweet | |
| Cracca villosa | L. | Sp. Pl.: 753 (1753) |
| Tephrosia incana | (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. | |
| Tephrosia villosa var. argentea | Thwaites | |
| Galega villosa | (L.) L. | Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1172 (1759) |
Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Tephrosia villosa subsp. ehrenbergiana | (Schweinf.) Brummitt | Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 41: 225 (1968) |
| Tephrosia villosa subsp. villosa | Unknown |
Varieties (abbr. var.) Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Tephrosia villosa var. daviesii | Brummitt | Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 41: 227 (1968) |
Germination/Propagation Top
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No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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East Tropical Africa
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Uganda
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Northeast Tropical Africa
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Somalia
- Sudan
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Northern Africa
- Egypt
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South Tropical Africa
- Angola
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Zimbabwe
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Southern Africa
- Namibia
- Northern Provinces
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West Tropical Africa
- Benin
- Burkina
- Ivory Coast
- Senegal
- Togo
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Western Indian Ocean
- Madagascar
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East Tropical Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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Arabian Peninsula
- Saudi Arabia
- Yemen
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Arabian Peninsula
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Asia-tropical click to expand
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Indian Subcontinent
- Assam
- Bangladesh
- East Himalaya
- India
- Nepal
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- West Himalaya
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Indo-China
- Myanmar
- Thailand
- Vietnam
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Malesia
- Jawa
- Lesser Sunda Islands
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Indian Subcontinent
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Pacific click to expand
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Northwestern Pacific
- Caroline Islands
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Northwestern Pacific
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000204506 |
| UNII | 8QEE168DWE |
| USDA Plants | TEVI8 |
| Tropicos | 13033607 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1148851-2 |
| The Plant List | ild-5081 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 345230 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 62125 |
| IUCN Red List | 19892432 |
| IPNI | 1148851-2 |
| iNaturalist | 138466 |
| GBIF | 5342176 |
| EOL | 688936 |
| USDA GRIN | 80183 |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
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| Commodity risk assessment of Petunia spp. and Calibrachoa spp. unrooted cuttings from Kenya | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Gonthier P, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Manda RR, Schulz OM, Akrivou A, Antonatos S, Beris D, Debode J, Kritikos C, Kormpi M, Lacomme C, Manceau C, Papachristos D, Reppa C, Gardi C, Potting R | EFSA J | 25-Apr-2024 |
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| Implementation of machine learning in DNA barcoding for determining the plant family taxonomy | Riza LS, Zain MI, Izzuddin A, Prasetyo Y, Hidayat T, Abu Samah KA | Heliyon | 21-Sep-2023 |
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| Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches | Mutie FM, Mbuni YM, Rono PC, Mkala EM, Nzei JM, Phumthum M, Hu GW, Wang QF | Plants (Basel) | 02-Mar-2023 |
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| Anthelmintic Agents from African Medicinal Plants: Review and Prospects | Jato J, Orman E, Duah Boakye Y, Oppong Bekoe E, Oppong Bekoe S, Asare-Nkansah S, Spiegler V, Hensel A, Liebau E, Agyare C | Evid Based Complement Alternat Med | 31-Dec-2022 |
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| Use of Defensins to Develop Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Synthetic Fungicides to Control Phytopathogenic Fungi and Their Mycotoxins | Leannec-Rialland V, Atanasova V, Chereau S, Tonk-Rügen M, Cabezas-Cruz A, Richard-Forget F | J Fungi (Basel) | 25-Feb-2022 |
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| Myco-Synergism Boosts Herbivory-Induced Maize Defense by Triggering Antioxidants and Phytohormone Signaling | Batool R, Umer MJ, Wang Y, He K, Shabbir MZ, Zhang T, Bai S, Chen J, Wang Z | Front Plant Sci | 17-Feb-2022 |
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| Emerging Anthelmintic Resistance in Poultry: Can Ethnopharmacological Approaches Offer a Solution? | Zirintunda G, Biryomumaisho S, Kasozi KI, Batiha GE, Kateregga J, Vudriko P, Nalule S, Olila D, Kajoba M, Matama K, Kwizera MR, Ghoneim MM, Abdelhamid M, Zaghlool SS, Alshehri S, Abdelgawad MA, Acai-Okwee J | Front Pharmacol | 14-Feb-2022 |
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| Status and consolidated list of threatened medicinal plants of India | Gowthami R, Sharma N, Pandey R, Agrawal A | Genet Resour Crop Evol | 25-May-2021 |
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| Plants in the Genus Tephrosia: Valuable Resources for Botanical Insecticides | Zhang P, Qin D, Chen J, Zhang Z | Insects | 21-Oct-2020 |
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| Plant Defensins from a Structural Perspective | Kovaleva V, Bukhteeva I, Kit OY, Nesmelova IV | Int J Mol Sci | 26-Jul-2020 |
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| Defensins of Grasses: A Systematic Review | Odintsova TI, Slezina MP, Istomina EA | Biomolecules | 10-Jul-2020 |
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| The potential of anti-malarial compounds derived from African medicinal plants: a review of pharmacological evaluations from 2013 to 2019 | Bekono BD, Ntie-Kang F, Onguéné PA, Lifongo LL, Sippl W, Fester K, Owono LC | Malar J | 18-May-2020 |
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| An Ethnobotanical Survey of a Dryland Botanical Garden and Its Environs in Kenya: The Mutomo Hill Plant Sanctuary | Mutie FM, Gao LL, Kathambi V, Rono PC, Musili PM, Ngugi G, Hu GW, Wang QF | Evid Based Complement Alternat Med | 17-Mar-2020 |
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| A novel recombinant javanicin with dual antifungal and anti-proliferative activities | Orrapin S, Intorasoot A, Roytrakul S, Dechsupa N, Kantapan J, Onphat Y, Srimek C, Sitthidet Tharinjaroen C, Anukool U, Butr-Indr B, Phunpae P, Intorasoot S | Sci Rep | 05-Dec-2019 |
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| Antidiabetic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of extracts of Tephrosia bracteolata leaves | Egharevba GO, Dosumu OO, Oguntoye SO, Njinga NS, Dahunsi SO, Hamid AA, Anand A, Amtul Z, Priyanka U | Heliyon | 21-Aug-2019 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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| In public collections | 0 |