Pedalium murex
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID644002331d0ea353485051 |
| Scientific name | Pedalium murex |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Syst. Nat. ed. 10 , 2: 1123 (1759) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- Fresh leaves, harvested before flowering, are marketed as a leafy vegetable in local markets and are also exported as dried greens.
- Seed mucilage, extracted from mature seeds, is commercialized as a natural thickener, stabilizer, and binding agent.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
- Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable or added raw to salads, providing a neutral flavor, moderate protein (~15 % dry‑matter), and dietary fiber.
- The seed mucilage, when hydrated, forms a viscous gel used to thicken soups, sauces, bakery batters, and can be milled into a gluten‑free flour substitute.
Industrial and craft applications:
- The polysaccharide‑rich mucilage functions as a natural binder in the paper‑making process, improving pulp cohesion and reducing synthetic adhesive requirements.
- It is employed as a coating or sizing agent for textiles, imparting water‑retention and improving finish without altering handfeel.
- The material’s adhesive properties have been evaluated for eco‑friendly paper‑based packaging and as a binder in natural‑fiber composites; its viscosity can be tuned by pH adjustment, making it suitable for paint and ink formulations.
Properties relevant to use:
- Mucilage consists mainly of neutral polysaccharides (arabinose, galactose, rhamnose) with high molecular weight, giving strong water‑binding capacity and shear‑thinning rheology; 1–3 % (w/v) solutions typically exhibit viscosities of 200–800 cP at 25 °C.
- Leaves contain approximately 15 % protein on a dry‑matter basis, moderate fiber, and low levels of anti‑nutrients, facilitating direct culinary use.
- The mucilage’s gel strength and film‑forming ability are comparable to those of other plant hydrocolloids, enabling its use as a binder, thickener, or stabilizer.
Sustainability and sourcing:
- Pedalium murex is a drought‑tolerant herb native to semi‑arid regions of East Africa; it can be cultivated on marginal soils with minimal irrigation and incorporated into crop rotations with cereals.
- Harvesting of leaves and seed collection does not require land clearing; the plant regrows rapidly after cutting, supporting sustainable collection and providing an alternative income source for smallholder farmers.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Murex burmanni | Kuntze | Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 481 (1891) |
| Pedalium muricatum | Salisb. | Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton : 104 (1796) |
| Pedalium microcarpum | Decne. | Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. , sér. 5, 3: 332 (1865) |
| Rogeria microcarpa | Klotzsch | Naturw. Reise Mossambique 6(1): 190 (1861) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | common pedalium |
| English | large caltrops |
| Bengali | বিলাতি গোখুর |
| Hindi | बड़ा गोखरू |
| Malayalam | വലിയ ഞെരിഞ്ഞിൽ |
| Tamil | ஆனை நெருஞ்சில் |
| Tamil | பெரு நெருஞ்சில் |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Africa click to expand
-
East Tropical Africa
- Kenya
- Tanzania
-
Northeast Tropical Africa
- Eritrea
- Socotra
- Somalia
- Sudan
-
South Tropical Africa
- Mozambique
-
West Tropical Africa
- Benin
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Nigeria
- Togo
-
West-central Tropical Africa
- Central African Republic
-
Western Indian Ocean
- Comoros
- Madagascar
-
East Tropical Africa
-
Asia-temperate click to expand
-
Arabian Peninsula
- Oman
- Saudi Arabia
- Yemen
-
Arabian Peninsula
-
Asia-tropical click to expand
-
Indian Subcontinent
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
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Indo-China
- Myanmar
- Vietnam
-
Malesia
- Jawa
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Indian Subcontinent
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000482113 |
| UNII | R1LMM9CVCD |
| Tropicos | 24300021 |
| INPN | 807459 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:675880-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2562876 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 857314 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 642575 |
| IPNI | 675880-1 |
| iNaturalist | 355383 |
| GBIF | 5527253 |
| EPPO | PDUMU |
| EOL | 2881659 |
| USDA GRIN | 431293 |
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)!
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Benzenoids / Phenols / Methoxyphenols | |||||
| Vanillin | 1183 | Click to see COC1=C(C=CC(=C1)C=O)O | 152.15 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| > Hydrocarbons / Saturated hydrocarbons / Alkanes | |||||
| Nonacosane | 12409 | Click to see CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC | 408.80 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| Pentatriacontane | 12413 | Click to see | 492.90 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| Tritriacontane | 12411 | Click to see CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC | 464.90 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acid esters / Wax esters / Wax monoesters | |||||
| Tetratriacontanyl octacosanoate | 129664425 | Click to see | 901.60 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| Triacontyl dotriacontanoate | 85667894 | Click to see CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)OCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC | 901.60 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acids and conjugates / Very long-chain fatty acids | |||||
| Hentriacontanoic acid | 37982 | Click to see | 466.80 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| Hexatriacontanoic acid | 5282596 | Click to see CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)O | 537.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| Triacontanoic acid | 10471 | Click to see | 452.80 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| Tritriacontanoic acid | 181572 | Click to see | 494.90 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Triterpenoids | |||||
| (+)-Ursolic Acid | 64945 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| (4aS,6aR,6aR,6bR,7R,8aR,10S,12aS,14bS)-7,10-dihydroxy-2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-1,3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,10,11,12,13,14b-tetradecahydropicene-4a-carboxylic acid | 101297651 | Click to see CC1(CCC2(CCC3(C(=CCC4C3(C(CC5C4(CCC(C5(C)C)O)C)O)C)C2C1)C)C(=O)O)C | 472.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| Urs-12-en-28-oic acid, 3-hydroxy-, (3beta)- | 220774 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Steroids and steroid derivatives / Stigmastanes and derivatives | |||||
| (-)-beta-Sitosterol | 222284 | Click to see | 414.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| 17-(5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 86821 | Click to see CCC(CCC(C)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CC=C4C3(CCC(C4)O)C)C)C(C)C | 414.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| beta-Sitosterol 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside | 296119 | Click to see CCC(CCC(C)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CC=C4C3(CCC(C4)OC5C(C(C(C(O5)CO)O)O)O)C)C)C(C)C | 576.80 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| Sitogluside | 5742590 | Click to see CCC(CCC(C)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CC=C4C3(CCC(C4)OC5C(C(C(C(O5)CO)O)O)O)C)C)C(C)C | 576.80 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| Stigmast-5-en-3-ol | 22012 | Click to see | 414.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| > Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Carbonyl compounds / Ketones | |||||
| Heptatriacontan-4-one | 123635263 | Click to see | 535.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(83)85033-X |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavones | |||||
| Luteolin | 5280445 | Click to see C1=CC(=C(C=C1C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)O)O)O)O | 286.24 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glucuronides / Flavonoid-7-O-glucuronides | |||||
| 3,4,5-Trihydroxy-6-[5-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-6-methoxy-4-oxochromen-7-yl]oxyoxane-2-carboxylic acid | 17981428 | Click to see | 476.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| DiosMetin 7-O-beta-D-Glucuronide | 74977725 | Click to see COC1=C(C=C(C=C1)C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)OC4C(C(C(C(O4)C(=O)O)O)O)O)O)O | 476.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| DiosMetin 7-O-beta-D-Glucuronide | 54462250 | Click to see COC1=C(C=C(C=C1)C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)OC4C(C(C(C(O4)C(=O)O)O)O)O)O)O | 476.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| Hispidulin 7-glucuronide | 5318059 | Click to see | 476.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / O-methylated flavonoids / 4-O-methylated flavonoids | |||||
| Diosmetin | 5281612 | Click to see COC1=C(C=C(C=C1)C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)O)O)O | 300.26 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / O-methylated flavonoids / 6-O-methylated flavonoids | |||||
| Hispidulin | 5281628 | Click to see | 300.26 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| Nepetin | 5317284 | Click to see | 316.26 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)90057-8 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / O-methylated flavonoids / 7-O-methylated flavonoids | |||||
| Isoetin 5,7-dimethyl ether | 44258304 | Click to see | 330.29 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(92)83667-N |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |