Original Research

The toxicity of Gladiolus dalenii van Geel

S. van Dyk, L. M. Gerritsma- Van der Vijver, D. G. van der Nest
Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Natuurwetenskap en Tegnologie | Vol 13, No 4 | a594 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/satnt.v13i4.594 | © 1994 S. van Dyk, L. M. Gerritsma- Van der Vijver, D. G. van der Nest | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 10 July 1994 | Published: 10 July 1994

About the author(s)

S. van Dyk,, South Africa
L. M. Gerritsma- Van der Vijver,, South Africa
D. G. van der Nest,, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (187KB)

Share this article

Bookmark and Share

Abstract

The biological activity of Gladiolus dalenii van Geel (Iridaceae) corms (used in ethnomedicine) and leaves were evaluated in a few systems. A profile of acute toxicity in rats was compiled and it was found that both corms and leaves contained cytotoxic substances affecting mitotic active tissue. Acute deaths resulted from congestive heart failure. The toxicity of a fraction (coded as GDI) isolated from corms was qualitatively similar to that of corms and leaves. Estimated minimum lethal doses, given in mg/kg body weight, lie in the range 10-31 (i.p.) and 3 160 - 5 620 (p.o.) for corms, 100-316 (i.p.) and > 1 780 (p.o.) for leaves and 1-3 (i.p.) and > 1 000 (p.o.) for fraction GDI. Intact plant material showed no activity against a series of microbes. Fraction GDI was active against Candida albicans. Phototoxicity was not detected.

Keywords

No related keywords in the metadata.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 2183
Total article views: 1959

Reader Comments

Before posting a comment, read our privacy policy.

Post a comment (login required)

Crossref Citations

No related citations found.